Experimental or quasi-experimental studies that evaluated an intervention involving medication reconciliation in patients transferred to and/or from long-term care settings were eligible for inclusion. Studies without a comparator group were excluded. Studies that involved transitions to or from home health agencies were excluded, as were non empirical studies. Studies published before 2000 were excluded.
The included studies considered: discharge from hospital to nursing home; discharge from skilled nursing facility to home; home or assisted living to hospital with discharge to various settings; hospital admission and hospital discharge to nursing home or home; various settings to hospital admission; first-time discharge from hospital to long term care facilities. The interventions predominantly involved pharmacy-managed or assisted medication reconcilement. Studies were conducted in USA, Sweden, Belgium and Australia. Mean ages of patients ranged from 69 to 84.4 years.
Two reviewers undertook study selection. Consensus between three or more reviewers was needed for study inclusion.