Objectives Medication reconciliation is a key part of transitional care. This study examined the implementation of a pharmacist-led medication reconciliation programme for short-term hospitalised patients and explored the barriers and benefits.

Methods A prospective study was conducted in patients admitted to a gynaecological oncology department. Medications were reconciled on admission using a ‘comprehensive medication review (CMR)’ strategy. Patients received a reminder text message and were asked to bring their medications a day before admission for scheduled chemotherapy. Upon admission, a pharmacist reviewed patients' admission prescriptions and home medications, including non-prescription medications, based on clinical status and laboratory test results. Drug-related problems and unused or expired medications were assessed. Satisfaction with the CMR service and reasons for non-compliance were surveyed by an individual interview. The cost of the unused or expired medications was calculated based on the average drug acquisition cost.

Results Sixty-four interventions in 95 patients were performed during the study—namely, correction of treatment duration (34 cases, 53.1%), recommendation of medications for untreated indications (18 cases, 28.1%), correct drug selection (5 cases, 7.8%), discontinuation of duplicate medications (4 cases, 6.3%), correction of dose, provision of alternatives for drug–drug interactions, unintended omissions (1 case each, 1.6%). The difference in the cost of unused or expired drugs before and after programme implementation was about US$1700.

Conclusions Pharmacist-led medication reconciliation targeting short-term hospitalised patients improved drug use, prevented medication waste and reduced healthcare costs.