Ensuring seamless care at hospital discharge: a national survey

Aim: To identify the services that hospital pharmacies were providing in 19 99 to facilitate seamless care upon patient discharge. Design: Postal questionnaire containing closed and open questions. Subjects and setting: U.K. Trust hospitals. Questionnaire addressed to Chie f pharmacists to be completed by themselves or most appropriate deputy, the n returned anonymously in prepaid envelope. Results: The response rate was 73.4% (163/222). 71.2% of responses came fro m general hospitals and 23.3% from teaching hospitals. Junior medical staff members were responsible for preparing virtually all discharge prescriptio ns, which were checked against the ward prescription chart by pharmacists i n three-quarters of U.K. Trusts. Hospitals used a wide variety of methods t o communicate information about medicine regimens to GPs. There was also wi de variation in the provision of discharge counselling, telephone 'help-lin es' and clear medication records to patients. Few hospitals involved commun ity pharmacies routinely in the discharge process. Conclusion: There is still wide variation within hospital pharmacy practice in meeting the medicines-related needs of patients at discharge.