Percentage of Eligible Patients With at Least One Outstanding Unintentional Medication Discrepancy

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Care Transitions
Country
Australia
Publishing Organisation
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC): WHO High 5s Project Assuring Medication Accuracy at Transitions of Care - performance measures
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Safety
Domain
Medication-Related

Defining Attributes

Definition

Percentage of eligible patients with at least one outstanding unintentional medication discrepancy.

Numerator

Number of eligible patients with at least one outstanding unintentional medication discrepancy.

Denominator

Number of eligible patients (inferred).

Exclusions
Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments
Stratifications

Collection and Reporting Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Surveys
Data Collection Methods

Data were collected for four measures by a trained independent observer who audited patient records for any outstanding discrepancies remaining after the medicines had been reconciled. Data was validated and entered into a secure website where health services could compare their own results with national and international averages. A sample of 30 records of patients whose medicines had been reconciled within 24 hours of admission were further reviewed by the independent observer for the quality measures (MR–2 to MR–4).

Frequency of Data Collection
Health services collected performance measure data at monthly intervals initially and then three-monthly to measure the effectiveness of the SOP in terms of the rate and quality of the medication reconciliation process.
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
30
Reporting Methods

5 year project starting 2010, not currently reported. Reported once in the Interim report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) High 5s Project for Assuring Medication Accuracy at Transitions of Care (2010-2013)

Reporting Frequency
One-off
Reporting Frequency in Days
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

Evidence Source

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. High 5s Project Assuring Medication Accuracy at Transitions of Care – Australian Interim Report January 2010–March 2013. ACSQHC Sydney. 2014 www.safetyandquality.gov.au/sites/default/files/migrated/High-5s-Project-Assuring-Medication-Accuracy-at-transitions-of-Care-Aust-Int-Report.pdf

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
02 December 2025