Data collected from TTOs included admission and discharge dates, demographics and pharmaceutical details (e.g. number PD0325901 of items prescribed, number of prescription changes, validation status). The primary outcome measure was 30-day readmission status; readmission interval was the secondary outcome measure. Ethical approval was not required. Two hundred eighty-three TTOs were

completed during the baseline evaluation: 101 (35.7%) were validated by a pharmacist and 42 (14.8%) resulted in readmission. Two hundred ninety-six TTOs were completed during the intervention evaluation: 223 (75.3%) were validated by a pharmacist and 36 (12.2%) resulted in readmission. The average age of those readmitted (73.2) was seven and

a half years older than those not readmitted (65.7) (p < 0.01, 95% CI for the difference 3.20–11.8); patients aged 65 or older were significantly more likely to be readmitted (17.6%, 63/357) than younger patients (6.8%, 15/222) (p < 0.01). The number of prescription changes on the TTO was not found to differ significantly between those who were readmitted and those who were not; however, those readmitted Ku 0059436 were prescribed an average of two more items at discharge (10.8) than those who were not (8.4) (p < 0.01, 95% CI for the difference 0.989–3.90). The readmission behaviour of patients prescribed seven or less items at discharge (n = 221) was found to differ significantly (p < 0.01) from patients prescribed eight or more (n = 264). The results indicate where pharmacists may have the most impact on reducing readmissions; specifically patients over 65 years of age and those taking eight or more medicines. Further work

is needed to determine whether readmission can be reduced in these groups by application of pharmaceutical interventions and to establish the long term benefits of focusing limited resources. Mandating pharmacist validation of TTOs in working hours was associated with a substantial increase in proportion validated and a notable reduction in readmission rate. It is acknowledged that the activity of the Trust’s Virtual Ward varied during the study, however there was not a pharmacist on the team at that time; further work will be carried Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase out to determine the influence of this on the results observed. 1. Health & Social Care Information Centre Clinical Indicators Team. (2013). Hospital Episode Statistics, Emergency readmissions to hospital within 28 days of discharge -Financial year 2011/12. 2. Care Quality Commission. (2009). Managing patients medicines after discharge from hospital. I. Uddina, B. Dean Franklina,b aUCL School of Pharmacy, London, UK, bImperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK Our objectives were to identify recent UK newspaper reports of medication errors, to explore the types of error reported, and how these were portrayed.