Development and Implementation of a Prescription Refill Policy and Medication Flow Sheet for Primary Care Practice

Objective. This purpose of this quality improvement project was to: (a) develop a prescription medication refill policy to improve patient safety and decrease medication errors; and (b) design a medication flow sheet to monitor and track long-term medication treatment for chronic conditions. Background. The 8 absence of a prescription medication refill policy and lack of patient follow-up office visits are a significant problem in primary care practices. The lack of health care provider control and office policies regarding this process may lead to patient safety issues, which is a critical factor in improving the quality of care. Dispensing medications to patients that have not been seen in the office for a long period of time is not only dangerous but a liability to the provider. Methods. Data was obtained from chart reviews of 74 patients and three categories of chronic medications were requested and reviewed including antihypertensives, antidiabetics, and antihyperlipidemics. Descriptive statistics using SPSS were used to monitor and track correct data entered on refill request forms and transferred to a prescription medication flow sheet. Results. One of the key findings of this quality improvement study was that almost 20% of the patients had not been in the office for over one year which has a significant patient safety concern in regard to follow up and medication refills being dispensed without the patient being seen Conclusion. This quality improvement and patient safety project has the potential to change the primary care practice by improving efficiency and documentation practices that can provide a safety mechanism for the prevention of medication errors and for prescription medication refills to be dispensed too early causing possible harm to the patient.