Patient’s Own Medication Use During Hospitalization

Abstract

Medication wasting has been adding to the cost burden on the healthcare system. Sustainable interventions such as using patients’ own medications have been implemented to upgrade the medicine management system. This review aimed to describe the studies related to patients’ own medication in hospital settings to explore its positive impacts. Current literature has studied the impact of using patients’ own medicines from cost-effectiveness, clinical, and patient safety perspectives. The economic impact was represented by determining the cost saved after implementing the patient’s own medications intervention. On the other hand, the efficacy of patient care was proven by reducing the frequency of medication error and prevalence of drug-drug interactions as the intervention was implemented. Patients’ knowledge of their medications was also proven to be improved with their own medicines during hospitalization, improving their adherence to their medication treatment. Improving patients' adherence to and knowledge of their prescriptions during hospitalization may also aid in the reduction of hospital readmissions, which could result in a net economic return.