Objectives: This study aimed to examine the associations between adoption of an advanced medication alert system and decreases in hospital-based outpatient duplicated medication rates in Taiwan.

Methods: The unit of analysis was the hospital. We merged the hospital medication alert system adoption survey data and Taiwan National Health Insurance outpatient claims data. The observation time was 1998 to 2011, divided into 5 periods (T1-T5). The analysis included 216 hospitals, and outcome variable was hospital-based outpatient duplicated medication rates. The system adoption time frame, hospital accreditation level, and number of drugs per prescription were defined as predicted variables. A generalized estimating equation regression model was used.

Results: Adoption of the advanced medication alert system gradually increased, such that 100% of medical centers and 84% of regional hospitals, but less than 50% of district hospitals, had systems by T5. The hospital-based outpatient duplicated medication rate continually decreased, from 29.8% to 11.2%. The generalized estimating equation model showed rates of duplicated medications of b = -8.44 at T2 and b = -17.88 at T5 (P < 0.001) compared with T1. Medical centers and regional hospitals demonstrated much lower duplication rates (b = -13.71, b = -6.82; P < 0.001) compared with district hospitals. Hospitals with more medications per prescription had higher duplication rates than did hospitals with fewer items.

Conclusions: Hospitals accredited at higher levels tended to have advanced medication alert systems. Hospitals that implemented advanced systems decreased hospital-based outpatient duplicated medications, avoiding a potential risk due to inappropriate medication use.