Timeout Before Checking Out

During hospitalization and subsequent discharge, medications often are modified or changed, which can be a source of confusion for patients and providers and can result in medication errors. Investigators at an 885-bed academic teaching facility examined the rate of prescribing errors during 60 days before and after instituting a discharge timeout process whereby all members of the medical team met to review the patient record and complete a standardized discharge form.

The timeout was completed in 2 to 3 minutes; it included a review by a clinical pharmacist who compared the patient's home medical regimen with the inpatient list of medications. The pharmacist and medical team then came to a consensus on discharge drug regimen and length of …