Discharge Medicine Service

Keeping patients safe when they transfer between care providers. It is widely accepted that when patients move between care providers the risk of miscommunication and unintended changes to medications is a significant problem. It has been reported that between 30 and 70 percent of patients have either an error or an unintentional change to their medicines when their care is transferred. Getting the transfer of medicines information right can be challenging as patients follow complex pathways and systems vary between providers. However, greater collaboration between professionals can make a difference to patient safety. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has worked with other Royal Colleges to develop guidance about keeping patients safe when they transfer between care providers. This includes a number of good practice principles for all healthcare professionals involved in the sending and receiving of information about medicines, as well as a number of practical suggestions that providers, commissioners and professionals may wish to implement to support the safe transfer of information.