Patient completion of self-administered medication history forms in the emergency department

Background: A self-administered patient medication history form may improve efficiency of workflow in the emergency department. The objective of this study was to evaluate the patient perspective of completing a self-administered medication history form in the emergency department. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of patients who presented to an urban emergency department in Australia. Face and content validity of the survey was established via an iterative process that included pharmacists and patients. After completing a self-administered medication history form, patients were surveyed regard their perspective of this approach. The results of each survey question were evaluated descriptively. Results: A total of 113 completed the survey. The mean age was 59 ± 19 years, and 52% were male. Most patients (87%, n = 98) did not think there were any problems completing a self-administered list while waiting to be seen by a physician or pharmacist in the emergency department. Some patients preferred other modalities for clinicians to obtain the list due to their lack of recollection or confusion (4%, n = 4), preferred that clinicians utilised existing lists or evaluated medications brought with them (2%, n = 2), preferred the convenience of answering questions rather than writing (1%, n = 1), or did not list a reason (1%, n = 1). Conclusion: Most patients who present to the emergency department view a self-administered medication history form positively.