PictureRx: Improving Medication Safety in Health Disparity Populations

Medication safety is an important concern in hospital Emergency Departments (EDs), which provide approximately 136 million patient visits annually in the US. An accurate list of the patient's medications is often needed to inform medical decision-making. Moreover, health care facilities are required to provide patients with an accurate, reconciled list of their medications upon completion of the visit. However, for 37-87% of patients in the ED, errors are present in the documented medication list, and patients often leave without an updated list of their medications or a good understanding of their self-care instructions. This increases the risk of harmful adverse drug events. Health disparity populations, who are more likely to seek care in EDs and who more often have difficulty providing a complete medication history, are disproportionately affected.

Health information technology has the potential to improve medication safety in this setting. PictureRx is an internet-based platform designed to improve medication management in vulnerable populations. It allows users to generate illustrated medication lists in an easily-understood, patient-centered format, in either English or Spanish. The investigators have developed a process for importing prescription fill data from the Surescripts Medication History service, which covers 96% of US pharmacies, into the PictureRx platform. The investigators are developing a mobile tablet PC-based medication history platform that receives and processes the Surescripts data, as well as prompts verification and additional information about the medication regimen.

This trial will assess the effect of the PictureRx medication history platform on the accuracy and efficiency of the medication reconciliation process, as well as patient understanding and satisfaction, in hospital Emergency Departments.