Currently, the drug order form does not capture the reason for discontinuing or modifying a medication. This is an important feature to consider as we work to close system gaps related to patient safety. Adding this capability would enhance care continuity and decision-making.
- Why: Including a field in the orders form to capture the reason for discontinuing or modifying a medication is key for patient safety, especially during care transitions. Without this information, providers lack essential context for why a drug was stopped or altered, which can lead to medication errors, inappropriate re-prescribing, or adverse drug interactions.
- Who: The field would be filled out by healthcare providers (doctors, clinicians, pharmacists …) directly involved in the patient’s medication management.
- When: The field to be filled out when discontinuing or modifying a medication, which can happen during routine appointments, or when a patient’s treatment plan is being adjusted based on their clinical response or health status.
- Where: Can we have the field/s integrated into the Drug Order Form?
- What: Can the field document the specific reason for stopping or adjusting the medication, with reasons such as Adverse drug reactions, Ineffectiveness, Drug interactions, Patient non-compliance, Cost concerns, Improvement of the patient’s condition
Medications actions in O3 (Modify, Discontinue):
Drug Modification Action:
- Can we add a field to capture the reason for discontinuing drugs in the current drug order form?
Drug Discontinuation Action:
- With drug discontinuation, this is all we have at the moment. I suggest design inputs by @pauladams @cduffy.
