A clinic nurse is reviewing charts for clients who have appointments later in the day
Select to download PDF (96.13 KB). Followup is the act of making contact with a patient or caregiver at a later,
specified date to check on the patient's progress since his or her last appointment. Appropriate followup can help you to identify misunderstandings and answer questions, or make further assessments and adjust treatments. In addition, followup helps to promote a good working relationship between you and your patients. Who follows up depends on the purpose of the communication:
Choose the ways your office will follow up.
Initiate and track followup.
Track Your ProgressSelect the records of a sample of patients who should have received followup after a recent visit (e.g., patients with heart failure). Count the number of patients who received followup actions that were scheduled in your tracking system. Count the number of followup actions (e.g., phone calls, emails, letters, automated calls) that were performed within the desired time frame. Note what was achieved by the followup contacts: medicine changes, referrals made, clarification of medicine regimens. Return to Contents Page last reviewed September 2020 Page originally created February 2015 Internet Citation: Follow Up with Patients: Tool #6. Content last reviewed September 2020. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. When should a patient's medication list be updated?Make sure you change your list any time you are prescribed a new medicine or stop taking one.
Which of the following must be included in a patient's medication list?The list should include the name of the medication, the dose, and the number of times a day you have to take it. Include information about how to take the medication (with or without food, as a pill, as a shot). Include information about any allergies. Share the list with close friends, family, and caregivers.
Which action assists the nurse in prevention of a potential medication error?Medication reconciliation is the process of comparing a patient's medication orders to all of the medications that the patient has been taking. This reconciliation is done to avoid medication errors such as omissions, duplications, dosing errors, or drug interactions.
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