Our consultants will identify strategies to reduce the risk of a medication event with emphasis on “system” solutions ensuring that all available safety processes are used consistently and appropriately.
Improving Medication Safety and Awareness
Improving medication safety and awareness is a primary patient-safety imperative of all health care organizations. The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report entitled To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, released in November 1999, captured the attention of all stakeholders in the health care industry and the nation at large, with its frightening figures on the human and financial costs of medical and medication errors. Successful improvement efforts in medication safety and awareness generally have two valuable payoffs: the end result of reducing the risk of a medication error and the education gained along the way.
Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) Reporting
An undesirable response associated with use of a drug that either compromises therapeutic efficacy, enhances toxicity, or both. Hospital costs can be reduced if hospitals make changes to their systems for preventing and detecting ADRs.
Medication Error Reporting
Medication errors occur for a variety of reasons, including inaccurate communications and deficits in knowledge and performance by all health care professionals. These problems and deficits need to be addressed through a consistent reporting process. The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) stresses the importance of focusing on the process or system in which the error occurred, rather than focusing blame on an individual. By acknowledging all actual and potential errors, and by consistently assessing and reassessing systems, health-systems can help reduce medication errors and contribute significantly to improved patient safety.
Drug Diversion Prevention Planning
Health-systems should be aware of the potential for drug diversion. Prevention and monitoring strategies are important and must be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Patient Safety Organizations (PSO)
PSOs are organizations that share the goal of improving the quality and safety of health care delivery. By providing both privilege and confidentiality, PSOs create a secure environment where clinicians and health care organizations can collect, aggregate, and analyze data, thereby improving quality by identifying and reducing the risks and hazards associated with patient care.
All findings and comments are documented. A final written report is presented to the client within 30 days after the on-site assessment. The focus of the report is to provide opportunities for performance improvement.
