Comparison of medication history interview conducted via telephone with interview conducted face‐to‐face for elective surgical patients

Aim To evaluate whether medication history‐taking via telephone interview is an alternative to face‐to‐face medication history‐taking in elective surgical patients planned for admission after surgery. Method Patients undergoing elective surgery who were planned for post‐procedure admission during an 8‐week period between February and March 2015 were eligible for enrolment. A semi‐structured, scripted medication history interview was performed via telephone on the working day prior to the booked admission date for patients who met the inclusion criteria. Blinded comparator face‐to‐face histories were documented post‐operatively as per standard practice. Discrepancies identified were risk stratified via consensus by a panel of three pharmacists. Results Sixty‐four patients received a telephone history interview and comparator face‐to‐face interview. The average number of medications was 4.47 for phone history versus 4.64 for face‐to‐face interview (p = 0.247). The average time to conduct a phone history interview was 5.8 min (standard deviation 3.89 min) compared to 6.69 min (standard deviation 5.01 min) (p = 0.176) for interviews conducted face‐to‐face. Omission or documented error of a regular prescription medication occurred with four patients (6.25%). Two errors were deemed clinically significant with the potential to cause moderate discomfort or clinical deterioration. Conclusion Medication history interviews via telephone are a suitable alternative to face‐to‐face medication history‐taking in low‐risk elective surgical patients who are unable or not required to attend an elective procedures admission clinic.