Percentage of Patients Who Receive a Current, Accurate and Comprehensive Medication List at the Time of Hospital Discharge

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Care Transitions
Country
Australia
Publishing Organisation
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC): National Quality Use of Medicines Indicators for Australian Hospitals (2014)
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Safety
Domain
Communication

Defining Attributes

Definition

Percentage of patients who received a current, accurate and comprehensive medication list at hospital discharge. Patients refers to all patients admitted for at least 24 hours whose care is transferred from the hospital inpatient setting to home or a community-based care facility. Medication list refers to a list of the medicines provided to the patient or carer, which includes the following information: all medicines to be taken by the patient, including the dose, frequency and indication for each medicine; information about changes to therapy, including dose changes, new medicines and ceased medicines; any medicines NOT to be taken by the patient, including those causing allergies/adverse drug reactions. Active ingredient name should be provided for each medicine and brand names should be listed as appropriate. The list must be in a format that is easily understood by lay persons and should not contain medical terminology or jargon. Current, accurate and comprehensive means that the discharge medication list contains all the information required for the patient or their caregiver to understand their medication regimen and effectively and safely manage their medicines after discharge. To determine whether the medication list is accurate and comprehensive, the auditor should compare the list with the: medicines prescribed on all current medication charts at the point of discharge. and patient's admission medication history. Any discrepancies that cannot be accounted for by the auditor should be taken to mean that the discharge medication list is not accurate and comprehensive. At the time of discharge means the medication list is produced and provided to the patient within 24 hours prior to or at the patient's discharge. Hospital discharge means transfer of care from an inpatient facility to home or another site of community based care, such as a residential aged care facility, but not transfer to another acute care facility.

Numerator

Number of patients who received a current, accurate and comprehensive medication list at hospital discharge

Denominator

Number of discharged patients taking medicines in sample

Exclusions

Patients transferred to another acute care facility; patients cared for only in the emergency department i.e. not admitted.

Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments
Stratifications

Data Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Electronic/paper chart records
Data Collection Methods

Audits using patient medication lists, discharge documentation including dispensing information and discharge summaries, medication charts, medication management plans or reconciliation forms and medical records.

Frequency of Data Collection
The National QUM Indicators are designed for data collection as part of local quality improvement activities, for use by clinicians involved in hospital medication management, especially doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. The indicators may provide evidence for accreditation purposes.
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
1
Reporting Methods

Recommended for local quality improvement processes. Not regularly reported at national level.

Reporting Frequency
Ad libitum
Reporting Frequency in Days
1
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

Evidence Source

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and NSW Therapeutic Advisory Group Inc. (2014), National Quality Use of Medicines Indicators for Australian Hospitals. ACSQHC, Sydney www.safetyandquality.gov.au/sites/default/files/migrated/SAQ127NationalQUMIndicatorsV14-FINAL-D14-39602.pdf page 102

Technical Specifications
Link to Measurement Tools
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
No
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
No
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
23 July 2025