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Abstract: 

Each admission, provider visit, transfer or change in level of care is an opportunity for omission, duplication, dosing errors, drug-drug interactions and drug-disease interactions to occur and with it the potential for an adverse patient outcome. Almost half of all medication errors in the general health care community occur because medication is not reconciled adequately when there is a handoff in responsibility for the patient’s care, and 20% of these result in harm to the patient. This article reviews the essential principles and practices of medication reconciliation, including the steps to perform to verify when, where and what medications an inmate is scheduled to take, and situations such as arrivals, transfers, or off-site visits, where interruptions or errors can occur.

Keywords: Medication Administration Record (MAR)

Affiliations:  1: Nurse Consultant.