I hate home med lists. Hate, hate, hate them. They come up from the ER with no dosages, no routes, and no correct name. "Stool softener" is not an approved med name. The ER MD checks all the boxes to continue, and I know he/she doesn't look at what they're checking. Once the ER MDsigns that form, I can't add or subtract any info even if I absolutely know for sure it's wrong.
The last list was an absolute nightmare. A whole page with every single med missing something.
Ativan prn. NONONONO What's the dose? How often? PO or SL?
Vit D daily Do you know how many different Vit Ds there are in your hospital formulary? Does the pt even know which Vit D it is?
"Stool softener" and that's all.
Ten meds all similar to the above, and the MD checks to continue.
I have to try and clarify it with the pt, and the pt doesn't know. Where I work, the ER MD's responsibililty with the home med list stops once the pt leaves that area. So at 0300 I have to decide whether to call the PCP, or just leave it for the day nurse who already thinks I dump on her.
No way am I calling an MD about a home med at 0300. If I leave it for someone else to clean up, and they don't, then it's back on me and it's incident report time.
The pharmacy bottles would be nice, but that rarely happens. I could just take the orders off the bottles, and double check with the pt. That's when they bring them. But OTC meds are a whole other animal.
The best case scenario is the pt can fill in all the blanks. But I still have to write clarification orders for those ten meds.
Two admits last night took me twice as long as necessary.
There has to be a better way.