Post-discharge medication reconciliation crucial to patient safety and care coordination efforts

Medication reconciliation helps reduce the chance of adverse drug events by comparing a patient’s current and discharge medication list. It’s especially important for patients taking multiple medications.

The Medication Reconciliation Post-Discharge, or MRP, Medicare Star Ratings measure (also a HEDIS^® measure) assesses patients age 18 and older in the measurement year who have Medicare coverage and whose medications were reconciled on the date of discharge through 30 days after discharge (a total of 31 days).

Changes in the medication list should be reviewed and documented during medication reconciliation. This provides documentation of the most accurate list of patient medications, allergies and adverse drug reactions.

View the Medication Reconciliation Post-Discharge tip sheet to learn more about this measure when reconciliation should be completed, information to include in medical records, CPT codes to use in claims and tips for talking with patients about this important topic.

HEDIS^®, which stands for Healthcare Effectiveness Data Information Set, is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.