Is medication reconciliation required by Joint Commission
John Johnson
Updated on April 08, 2026
Medication reconciliation is included as an NPSG for the following Joint Commission programs: hospital, ambulatory healthcare, behavioral healthcare and human services, critical access hospital, home care, nursing care, and office-based surgery.
Is medication reconciliation required?
Whether patients used the prescribed medications as originally prescribed or if their medications were changed by another physician was not reported. The reconciliation process requires verification with the patient regarding their use of the prescribed medications.
Which example qualifies as a sentinel event that would require review by the Joint Commission?
Examples of sentinel events from the Joint Commission include the following: Suicide during treatment or within 72 hours of discharge. Unanticipated death during care of an infant. Abduction while receiving care.
Who is responsible for med reconciliation?
Patients and families are involved in medication reconciliation. Guiding Principle 7: Staff responsible for reconciling medicines are trained to take a BPMH and reconcile medicines. The context (or environment) in which the Medication reconciliation SOP is implemented will influence the success of its implementation.What is the Joint Commission requirements for reconciling medication information?
The Joint Commission summarizes the NPSG by stating, “Record and pass along correct information about a patient’s medicines. Find out what medicines the patient is taking. Compare those medicines to new medicines given to the patient. Give the patient written information about the medicines they need to take.
What is medication reconciliation Joint Commission?
In medication reconciliation, a clinician compares the medications the individual served should be using (and is actually using) to the new medications that are ordered for the individual and resolves any discrepancies. The Joint Commission recognizes that organizations face challenges with medication reconciliation.
Can LPN do medication reconciliation?
In most nursing homes, both registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) are permitted to perform medication reconciliations, but RNs are much more likely to discover discrepancies in medications than LPNs are, suggests new research from the University of Missouri.
When should a nurse complete a medication reconciliation?
Medication reconciliation can be considered complete when each drug the patient is taking has been actively continued, discontinued, held, or modified at each transition point”. Transitions in care include changes in setting, service, practitioner or level of care (IHI, 2015).Do nurses do medication reconciliation?
Nurses considered themselves to be second only to physicians in medication reconciliation since they: obtain an accurate medication history on admission, verify and reconcile discrepancies between the medication history list, those ordered on admission and at transition, and send the discharge medication list to the …
What is a sentinel event and what steps are required by The Joint Commission?A sentinel event is a patient safety event that results in death, permanent harm, or severe temporary harm. … The Joint Commission works closely with its organizations to address sentinel events and to prevent these types of events from occurring in the first place.
Article first time published onWhat is the most common sentinel event reported to Joint Commission?
Patient falls resulting in injury are consistently among the most frequently reviewed Sentinel Events by The Joint Commission. Patient falls remained the most frequently reported sentinel event for 2020.
What example qualifies as a sentinel event?
Sentinel events are unexpected events that result in a patient’s death or a serious physical or psychological injury. Examples of the most commonly occurring sentinel events include unintended retention of a foreign object, falls and performing procedures on the wrong patient.
What are the standards of medication reconciliation by the APRN?
Medication reconciliation involves a three-step process: verification (collecting an accurate medication history); clarification (ensuring that the medications and doses are appropriate); and reconciliation (documenting every single change and making sure it “squares” with all the other medication information).
Which one of the following choices is an important goal of medication reconciliation?
One of the goals of medication reconciliation is to compile the best possible medication history. What is a challenge involved in taking a medication history? Dealing with incomplete information, chasing down the rest of the information by calling doctors and pharmacists, and interpreting patients handwriting.
Is medication reconciliation a National patient Safety Goal?
This National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) focuses on the risk points of medication reconciliation. The elements of performance in this NPSG are designed to help organizations reduce negative patient outcomes associated with medication discrepancies.
Can social workers do medication reconciliation?
The social worker focused on traditional transition issues, such as ensuring follow-up with primary care physician and performing medication reconciliation, and also worked with Mrs. S to identify and address other health-related needs, such as improved pain management and increased access to supportive services.
Can LPN administer epinephrine?
B. LVNs will be knowledgeable about anaphylaxis and respond to patients with possible anaphylaxis under the direction of a provider or registered nurse. C. LVNs may administer epinephrine with a provider’s order and per procedures stated herein.
Why is medication reconciliation important in healthcare?
Medication reconciliation is vital to preventing readmissions – When a new medication is prescribed but other medications that the patient might be taking are unknown, there is an increased chance of a complication, potentially resulting in harm and a readmission.
Which documentation would the nurse include under the medication reconciliation?
Examples of documentation include: Current med list with notation of reconciliation of current and discharge medications. Reference of discharge meds (i.e., same meds at discharge), or discharge medication list review. Current medication list and discharge med list and notation that they were both reviewed.
What is a medication reconciliation technician?
Improve medication safety by assisting pharmacists to collect up-to-date prior-to-admission medication lists for patient admitted to the hospital. Update and clarify allergy information in patients’ records in an electronic health record.
How do you perform a medication reconciliation?
- Develop a list of a patient’s current medications. …
- Develop a list of medications to be prescribed. …
- Compare the medications on the lists. …
- Make clinical decisions based on the comparison. …
- Communicate the reconciled medication list to the patient and appropriate caregivers.
What is the difference between a never event and a sentinel event?
Most Never Events are very rare. … Sentinel events are defined as “an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physiological or psychological injury, or the risk thereof.” The NQF’s Never Events are also considered sentinel events by the Joint Commission.
What is the goal of the Joint Commission policy on sentinel events?
The Sentinel Event Policy explains how The Joint Commission partners with hospitals that have experienced a serious patient safety event to protect the patient, improve systems, and prevent further harm.
What is the difference between adverse event and sentinel event?
An Adverse Event is a serious, undesirable and usually unanticipated patient safety event that resulted in harm to the patient but does not rise to the level of being sentinel. A No Harm event is a patient safety event that reaches the patient but does not cause harm.
What are never events in medicine?
Never Events are serious, largely preventable safety incidents that should not occur if the available preventative measures are implemented. They include things like wrong site surgery or foreign objects left in a person’s body after an operation.
What abbreviation is on The Joint Commission do not use list?
Do Not UsePotential ProblemIU (International Unit)Mistaken for IV (intravenous) or the number 10 (ten)Q.D., QD, q.d., qd (daily) Q.O.D., QOD, q.o.d, qod (every other day)Mistaken for each other Period after the Q mistaken for “I” and the “O” mistaken for “I
What does The Joint Commission do with patient safety event data?
By identifying causes, trends, settings and outcomes of sentinel events, The Joint Commission can provide critical information in the prevention of sentinel events to accredited health care organizations and the public.
Are Falls reported to Joint Commission?
No, The Joint Commission does not have an official definition of a ‘fall‘, however a uniform definition is needed throughout the organization.
Is a close call or near miss a sentinel event?
EP 3: The scope of the safety program includes the full range of safety issues, from potential or no-harm errors (sometimes referred to as close calls [“near misses”] or good catches) to hazardous conditions and sentinel events.
What is the most common cause of sentinel events in healthcare?
According to the Joint Commission, the most common cause of sentinel events in healthcare includes unintended retention of a foreign object, fall-related events, and performing procedures on the wrong patient. Others include delay in treatment, medication error, and fire-related events.
What is the difference between medication review and medication reconciliation?
Whereas medication reconciliation is defined as the formal process of obtaining a complete and accurate list of each patient’s current medications with the main aim of detecting and solving discrepancies, medication review is a structured evaluation of a patient’s medications with the aim of detecting and solving drug- …