Medication Reconciliation in Outpatient Psychiatry: An Indicator of Communication With Primary Care? A Quantitative Descriptive Study

Aims To quantify medication discrepancies between an outpatient psychiatric service and general practitioners in northern France, and investigate general practitioner identification in psychiatric records. Design Quantitative, exploratory, retrospective, descriptive, monocentric study. Method Study conducted in 2022 on 112 patients, comparing medication lists between the medical and psychological center and general practitioners through medication reconciliation. Results Among the 33 patients (29.5%) with complete data allowing medication reconciliation, 84.8% had at least one discrepancy between medication regimens known to the outpatient psychiatric service versus those known to general practitioners. Discrepancies affected both psychiatric (85.7%) and nonpsychiatric medications (78.6%). 18.8% of the 112 patients did not have an identified general practitioner in the outpatient psychiatric records. Conclusion Medication reconciliation in outpatient psychiatry can improve treatment safety and create an opportunity for communication between care providers. Implications This study highlights opportunities for advanced practice nurses to improve medication safety and interprofessional communication in outpatient psychiatric care through medication reconciliation, which appears to be a reliable indicator for quantitatively assessing communication while actively creating opportunities for dialogue between outpatient psychiatric care facilities and primary care structures. The implementation of these practices could be supported by the advanced practice nurses recently introduced in France, by raising awareness among healthcare professionals, by contributing to the therapeutic education of patients and by supporting the use of digital health tools. Reporting Method Compliance with EQUATOR RECORDS guidelines, extended from STROBE statements. Patient or Public Input This study did not include patient or public participation in its design, conduct, or reporting.