Related Guidance:

Hospital discharge: leaflet for patients when they enter hospital (DHSC August 2020, updated July 2022)

Hospital discharge and community support: staff action cards (DHSC updated October 2022)

Principle 1: Plan for discharge from the start (NHSE)

Medicines reconciliation, A toolkit for pharmacists (FIP 2021)

The Unmet Challenge of Medication Nonadherence (Perm J 2018)

Pharmaceutical waste reduction in the NHS (NHSE 2015)

Transition between inpatient hospital settings and community or care home settings for adults with social care needs (NICE 2015)

Self-administration of medicines (SPS 2023)

  • Information should be shared across relevant health and care teams and organisations across the system in a secure and timely way to support best outcomes including whether medication has changed since hospital admission, ensure medication is being used effectively, minimise medication-related problems and reduce waste.
  • Building on Somerset’s Integrated Care System vision to streamline services and avoid duplication, the following principles can be applied to medication supply, updating and transfer of electronic records during admission and discharge:

Somerset Community Connect

Discharge Medicines Service