Implementation of Medication Reconciliation conducted by hospital pharmacists: A case study guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research

Background Medication reconciliation (MR) implementation in hospital care transitions has proved to be a challenge for health professionals and managers. It points to the need to conduct Implementation Research with a view to understanding the tasks of the real world and knowing how they impact this process. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), this study aims to analyze the factors that influenced the MR implementation process conducted by pharmacists at a hospital setting. Methods A qualitative case study was carried out in the cardiology and gastroenterology units of a teaching hospital in Brazil, involving participant observation and semi-structured interviews with physicians, pharmacists, nurses, nutritionists and a social worker. The CFIR was used to guide data collection and thematic analysis. The constructs were classified according to their influence and strength. Results Sixteen health professionals involved directly or indirectly with MR implementation participated in the study. Based on the analysis of the participants' quotes and of the field diary, 18 constructs of the CFIR were identified as influencing MR implementation. The constructs that most strongly influenced MR implementation concerned “Inner Setting”, “Characteristics of Individuals” and “Characteristics of Intervention”. The participating professionals showed little knowledge of MR and had different points of view on its scope, weakly relating MR to patient safety. The tools used to conduct MR were adapted according to the hospital's needs, thus facilitating its implementation. However, MR proved to be complex and require clinical knowledge and aligned teamwork to identify and resolve undocumented medication discrepancies, being as well intertwined with culture and organizational communication. Conclusions The results point to implementation failures and highlight that MR is a complex intervention, requiring specific knowledge from the multidisciplinary team and alignment with other existing workflows. The barriers and facilitators identified may serve to design and test implementation improvement strategies.