AHRQ Case Study Highlights Opportunities to Ensure Proper Medication Reconciliation

​The case of an elderly patient who erroneously continued anticoagulation therapy two years longer than instructed highlights several important opportunities along the care continuum to ensure appropriate medication reconciliation, states the author of a commentary from the September 2015 edition of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) online case study review, WebM&M. In the case, the patient was prescribed three different anticoagulants after the placement of two drug-eluting stents. A cardiologist informed the patient that he needed to discontinue warfarin in six months and discontinue the other two anticoagulants (clopidogrel and aspirin) after another six months. However, the patient continued to take the two anticoagulants for three years after the placement of the stents. The author observes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends no more than 12 months of dual anticoagulation therapy after drug-eluting stent implantation because it is associated with an increased risk of bleeding after 24 months.