MedsCheck (Medication Review)

Conducting MedsChek is the process of creating the most accurate list possible of all medications a patient is taking — including drug name, dosage, frequency, and route — and comparing that list against the physician’s admission, transfer, and/or discharge orders, with the goal of providing correct medications …

Patient must be an Ontario resident with a valid Ontario Health Card and currently taking a minimum of 3 prescription medications for a chronic condition. Patient must agree to the MedsCheck service; the MedsCheck program is voluntary.

Fifteen to twenty minutes or less, depending on how many medications are you currently taking

Free. The MedsCheck program is paid for by the Ontario Government through the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) Health Network System. 

Effective September 13, 2010, Ontario added three new services to the MedsCheck program:

1. MedsCheck for Ontarians living with Diabetes
2. MedsCheck at Home
3. MedsCheck for Long Term Home Residents

Patients are eligible for a MedsCheck Follow-Up within the annual time-frame under the following criteria:

1. A patient is discharged from the hospital within the previous 2 weeks
2. A pharmacist’s documented decision based on:
   1. Significant changes made to an existing medication profile or the addition of new medication
   2. Documented evidence of patient non-compliance
   3. Patient has changed their place of residence and has transferred their prescriptions to a different pharmacy
3. A referral from a physician (MD) or a nurse practitioner (NP)
4. A planned hospital admission

Clinical medication review is the process where a health professional such as a pharmacist reviews the patient, the illness, and the drug treatment during a consultation. It involves evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of each drug and the progress of the conditions being treated.

Medication reviews are important in primary care and help prevent adverse reactions from medications, improve the medical condition of the patient and reduce the usage of medicines to save money in the NHS.

A medicines review is a meeting with your pharmacist to talk about your medicines. Your medicines should be reviewed regularly (usually once a year for regular patients and every 3 months for diabetic patients) to check that your medications are right for you.

The term “medication reconciliation” is defined as “the process of comparing the medications a patient is taking (and should be taking) with newly ordered medications” in order to resolve discrepancies or potential problems.

Implementing MedsCheck reduces medication errors by 50–94% and reduces those with the potential to cause harm by over 50%. The process is also associated with improved patient outcomes and a tendency for reduced readmissions or rehospitalization.

You do not need to prepare for MedsCheck, instead:

• You will be provided with a comprehensive drug review list that is dated and authorized with the pharmacist’s and the patient’s signatures; the review list is important when patient’s interact with other health care providers.
• A copy of the signed review list and supporting documents including MD/NP referrals, hospital discharge / admission information and pharmacist’s documentation on decisions to conduct a MedsCheck Follow-Up are kept on file at the pharmacy for not less than two years for audit purposes.

Afetr conducting a MedsCheck, your pharmacist can help you address any drug therapy problems (DTP) discovered during the medication review. The pharmacist will fax your doctor with the important recommendations in case you need to renew a Rx, change a medication dose or dosage form or if you need to make an appointment to see your doctor.