If this is a life-threatening emergency, call 911 immediately.
Chest pain, severe difficulty breathing, stroke symptoms, major bleeding, or loss of consciousness require emergency medical services. This page describes non-emergency care delivered at home by skilled nurses.
Understanding Medication Reconciliation
What you should know
Medication reconciliation is the process of creating an accurate, complete list of every medication a patient takes — including dose, frequency, and route — and comparing it against what's been prescribed by all of their physicians. It sounds simple, but medication discrepancies are shockingly common, especially after hospitalization when new medications are started, old ones are changed, and discharge instructions may differ from what the primary care physician had prescribed.
Adverse drug events from medication errors are a leading cause of preventable harm, especially in older adults who take multiple medications prescribed by multiple physicians. The average Medicare home health patient takes 7–12 medications. Without reconciliation, dangerous interactions, duplications, and omissions go undetected.
Our skilled nurses perform thorough medication reconciliation at the start of care and after any hospitalization. We gather all bottles, compare labels to discharge instructions and physician records, identify discrepancies, educate patients on each medication's purpose and proper administration, and communicate concerns to prescribing physicians. This single intervention prevents more adverse events than almost anything else we do.
Warning signs
You may need care if…
Your care plan
How we help at home
Expert care for medication reconciliation,
delivered to your home
Our clinicians bring hospital-level expertise to the comfort and safety of where you live.
Common questions
Medication Reconciliation — Common Questions
Gather every medication — prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, supplements, eye drops, inhalers, patches, creams — everything. Also bring any discharge paperwork from recent hospital stays and a list of all your physicians. Our nurse will sort through everything and create a clear, accurate medication list.
At minimum: after every hospitalization, after any new prescriber is added, and at least annually. Our nurses reconcile medications at the start of home health care and update the list whenever changes occur. For patients with frequent medication changes, we reconcile at every visit.
Related services
Services involved in your care
These are the clinical services our team may use when managing medication reconciliation at home.
Get help with medication reconciliation at home
Our experienced clinicians provide expert general care in the comfort of your home. Contact us today to discuss your needs.
For life-threatening emergencies, always call 911.