Medication reconciliation: impact of an educational intervention on the knowledge, attitude and practices of healthcare professionals - a prospective quasi-experimental study in a Saudi referral hospital

Background Medication reconciliation has been acknowledged as a key intervention against medication errors. More than half of the medication errors that happen during care transitions are caused by unjustified medication discrepancies and up to one-third of these mistakes may be harmful. The study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of health care providers in on medication reconciliation process, pre and post educational intervention. Methods A hospital-based prospective quasi-experimental pre-post intervention study was conducted from November 2023 to February 2024 among 346 healthcare professionals (medical doctors, pharmacists and nurses) practicing in King Saud Hospital (KSH), Unayzah, Saudi Arabia. The subjects were recruited using the convenience sampling method.An educational intervention workshop was conducted among the healthcare professionals. The KAP was assessed before and after the educational intervention using a content and face validated self-administered questionnaire. The statistical analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was used to differentiate the mean response scores for knowledge, attitude, and practice domains, between pre and post intervention. Kruskal Wallis Test followed by Dunn's post hoc test was used to compare the mean response scores for knowledge, attitude and practice domains based on educational qualification and practicing experience for the pre and post-test period. The level of significance is determined at P < 0.05. Results There was a significant improvement in the participants' knowledge, attitude and practice after the educational intervention with mean scores of 0.72 (SD = 1.67, p < 0.0001*), 0.76 (SD = 1.97, p < 0.0001*), and 0.56 (SD = 2.05, p = 0.001*) respectively. The overall KAP scores showed a statistically significant enhancement after the education intervention with a mean score difference of 2.04 (SD = 4.76, p < 0.0001*).Our study upholds that MedRec is highly valued by the participants due to its significant role in reducing medication errors and enhancing patient safety, and that it has the ability to recognize medication discrepancies and reduce adverse drug events. Conclusion The education intervention effectively influenced the knowledge, attitude and practice of healthcare professionals regarding medication reconciliation. This study underscores the importance of continuous education and training for healthcare professionals to minimize medication discrepancies and improve patient care.