Nurses' Contributions to Prescribing and Reconciling Meds

Advanced practice nurses in Ohio are seeking more authority to prescribe drugs.  Given the higher demand for care forecast due to health reform and the fact that patients often have to wait for a doctor to be available to prescribe pain relievers, nurses are prepared to fill the gap.  It is expected that legislators in the Ohio House will vote this week on a bill that would allow advanced-practice nurses to write prescriptions for controlled substances, including fentanyl, oxycodone and Ritalin.  Click here to read more about this story in the Columbia Dispatch. 

INQRI understands the vital role that nurses play in the correct use of medication.  Grantees at Johns Hopkins Hospital have evaluated the effectiveness of a nurse-pharmacist clinical information coordination team in improving medication reconciliation management on admission and discharge, quantified potential harm due to reconciliation failures and determined the cost-benefit related to averted harm. Thus far, their work suggests how important medication reconciliation at the time of admission and at discharge is to avoiding adverse drug effects, improving patient safety and reducing healthcare costs.  Click here to watch the team present their findings.