VA and Defense Health Care: Increased Risk of Medication Errors for Shared Patients
Abstract
Joint venture sites with inpatient facilities provide pharmacy services to shared inpatients in the same manner as they do for their own beneficiaries, that is, medications are ordered using the facility's guidelines and filled through the inpatient pharmacy at that facility. Although the process for providing medications to shared outpatients differs across sites, generally each agency expects its beneficiaries to use its own, separate pharmacy for outpatient prescriptions, even when prescriptions are ordered by providers from the other agency. At one joint venture, a single DOD pharmacy provides medications for both VA and DOD outpatients. However, VA patients obtain only initial, short-term prescriptions at this DOD pharmacy; longer-term prescriptions and refills are obtained by mail from VA.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- AD1174391
Entities
People
- Deborah L. Edwards
- Irene J. Barnett
- Karen Sloan
- Keith E. Steck
- Linda Diggs
- Mary W. Reich
- Thomas Walke
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office