When a CCDA contains conflicting medication data, what is the recommended workflow?

• A. Ignore the conflict and proceed.
• B. Initiate data reconciliation, verify with the source system, and annotate for clinician review; prefer the most recent authoritative data.
• C. Delete the CCDA and request a new one.
• D. Merge the two sources without verification.

Answer: (B)

When medication data found in a CCDA conflicts, the right move is to reconcile the data across sources, verify with the source system, and annotate the record for clinician review, prioritizing the most recent authoritative data. This approach preserves patient safety by ensuring the medication list reflects what is currently prescribed or intended, rather than what may be stale or conflicting across systems.

Data reconciliation means comparing the medication entries from the CCDA with other trusted sources (such as the source EHR or pharmacy feeds) to identify where discrepancies lie. Verifying with the source system provides authoritative confirmation about what should be on the active medication list, including active prescriptions, discontinued items, and any recent changes. Annotating for clinician review alerts the care team that a discrepancy exists and requires human oversight before making treatment decisions. Preferring the most recent authoritative data helps prevent prescribing errors, omissions, or duplications due to outdated information.

Other approaches risk patient safety: ignoring the conflict can propagate incorrect or outdated medications; deleting and re-requesting a new CCDA may not resolve the underlying discrepancy and could cause delays; merging sources without verification can embed wrong information into the patient record.