About 18 months ago, Dr. Thomas Madejski realized that he needed to track his patients' medications more closely. He also wanted to be able to give them a list of their medications, the dosages, and any administration directions every time they had an appointment.
From that idea, he developed a discharge sheet that is updated and given to each patient after every appointment.
The sheet contains:
▸ An updated list of medications.
▸ A list of any testing or immunization that needs to be done.
▸ A list of any consultation visits scheduled to be done before the next visit.
▸ The next visit's date and time.
▸ A list of any educational materials the patient received.
Dr. Madejski practices in Medina, in upstate New York near Niagara Falls. Because his practice includes geriatric patients, he found that keeping close tabs on their medications was essential. Sometimes his patients see other physicians or specialists, and do not necessarily report if they receive a prescription. Keeping the discharge sheet up to date ensures that patients are asked about medications each time they come in.
Dr. Madejski said that most of his patients like the discharge sheet because it lets them document their medical history.
“The more sophisticated medical consumer will have a file that they carry with them,” he said. “They bring it in with them at their next visit. The ones who value it value it very highly.”
Dr. Madejski was able to create the discharge sheets because his practice adopted electronic medical records 3 years ago, he said. In fact, he said that most medical offices would find electronic record keeping to be financially viable and an enhancement. “We're getting to the point where it is really worthwhile,” he said.
Articles by Tim Kirn, Sacramento Bureau