Sign up for ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

Sign up for SafeMedicationUse.ca Newsletters and Alerts

View the Ontario Critical Incident Learning Bulletins

2013 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 13 Issue 3 - Reducing Adverse Events and Hospitalizations Associated with Drug Interactions
• Vol. 13 Issue 2 - Aggregate Analysis of Dose Omission Incidents Reported as Causing Harm
• Vol. 13 Issue 1 - Intravenous Phenytoin: Rate of Administration is Critical

2013 - SafeMedicationUse.ca Safety Newsletters and Alerts for Consumers

• Does This Medicine Belong to Me?
• Informed Consumers Can Help Prevent Harm from Opioid Use!
• ALERT: Canadian Adverse Reaction Newsletter Contains Important Information for Consumers with Allergies!

2012 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 12 Issue 13 - ALERT: Additional Safeguards Required for New Succinylcholine Product, a Neuromuscular Blocking (Paralyzing) Agent
• Vol. 12 Issue 12 - Opioid-Related Incident in a Long-Term Care Home
• Vol. 12 Issue 11 - Usability Testing in Proactive Risk Assessments
• Vol. 12 Issue 10 - ALERT: Errors with Prefilled Saline Syringes When Used to Reconstitute or Dilute Medications
• Vol. 12 Issue 9 - Concerned Reporting: Mix-ups Between Bisoprolol and Bisacodyl
• Vol. 12 Issue 8 - Pharmaceutical Bar Coding: National Recommendations
• Vol. 12 Issue 7 - Identifying Knowledge Deficits Related to HYDROmorphone
• Vol. 12 Issue 6 - ALERT: Medication Mix-up with Faxed Prescription
• Vol. 12 Issue 5 - Aggregate Analysis of Medication Incidents Involving Drug Interactions
• Vol. 12 Issue 4 - Recall of Morphine 2 mg/mL (1 mL Ampoules) and Medication Safety Strategies in a Drug Shortage Situation
• Vol. 12 Issue 3 - Drug Shortages and Medication Safety Concerns
• Vol. 12 Issue 2 - Analysis of Harmful Medication Incidents Involving Psychotropic Medications
• Vol. 12 Issue 1 - Include Cognitive Walkthrough in Proactive Risk Assessments

2012 - SafeMedicationUse.ca Safety Newsletters and Alerts for Consumers

• When It Comes to Your Medicines, Don't Rely on Memory!
• Some Eye Drops and Nasal Sprays May Be Harmful if Swallowed!
• Reminder: Take Care with Clear Care!
• Take Steps to Prevent Mix-ups with Pets' Medicines!
• Are You Taking the Right Amount of Water With Your Medicine?
• ALERT: Take Care with Medicine Patches!
• Preventing Harm from Drug Interactions: Consumers Can Play an Important Role
• ALERT: Check Labels Carefully When Selecting Gravol Products!
• Consumer Catches Error Involving Similar Medicine Names
• ALERT: Cough and Cold Preparations: Use with Care!
• Know What to Do if You Are Allergic to a Medicine!
• ALERT: Take Steps to Prevent Mix-ups between Family Members' Medicines at Home
• Medication Reconciliation Can Help to Reduce the Chance of Errors with Medicines!

2011 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 11 Issue 9 - Medication Reconciliation: Moving Forward
• Vol. 11 Issue 8 - Consumer Reports Submitted to SafeMedicationUse.ca Provide Insights into Opportunities to Enhance Safety
• Vol. 11 Issue 7 - Iodine Overdose with Lugol's Solution Demonstrates Need for Safeguards for Infrequently Used Medications in Urgent Situations
• Vol. 11 Issue 6 - Updated Operating Room Standards Include Strategies to Prevent Inadvertent Injection of Epinephrine Intended for Topical Use
• Vol. 11 Issue 5 - ALERT: Reports of Severe Harm after Intravenous Administration of Breast Milk to Infants
• Vol. 11 Issue 4 - Drug Name Alert: Potential for Confusion between Pradax and Plavix
• Vol. 11 Issue 3 - Medication Incidents Involving Digoxin Leading to Harm, Including Death
• Vol. 11 Issue 2 - ALERT: Interruption of Epoprostenol (Flolan) Infusion Leads to Patient's Death
• Vol. 11 Issue 1 - Oral Clonidine Suspension: 1000-Fold Compounding Errors Cause Harm to Children

2011 - SafeMedicationUse.ca Safety Newsletters and Alerts for Consumers

• What's In a Brand Name?
• It's Important to Speak Out!
• ALERT: Don't Take Your Medicines Twice!
• Preventing Errors with Children's Medicines: Part 3 - Over-the-Counter Medicines
• Preventing Errors with Children's Medicines: Part 2 - At Home and Away from Home
• Preventing Errors with Children's Medicines: Part 1 - At the Doctor's Office and Pharmacy
• ALERT: Beware of Potential Confusion between Pradax and Plavix!
• ALERT: Markings on Oral Syringes Can Be Confusing (Be Sure to Measure Liquid Medicines Accurately)
• Safe Disposal of Medications
• ALERT: Removing Medicines from Original Packaging Can Lead to Errors
• Similar Patient Names Leads to Pregnant Woman Getting Wrong Prescription
• Angeliq Drug Samples Mistakenly Provided as Birth Control

2010 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 10 Issue 10 - ALERT: Samples of Angeliq (Drospirenone and Estradiol-17β) Mistakenly Provided as Birth Control
• Vol. 10 Issue 9 - Medication Incidents Occurring in Long-Term Care
• Vol. 10 Issue 8 - TALLman Lettering for Drugs Used in Oncology
• Vol. 10 Issue 7 - Administration of Product-Specific Diluent without Medication
• Vol. 10 Issue 6 - Inadvertent Administration of Insulin to a Nondiabetic Patient
• Vol. 10 Issue 5 - Vulnerabilities of Electronic Prescribing: Height and Weight Mix-up Leads to an Incident with Panitumumab
• Vol. 10 Issue 4 - Antimicrobial Stewardship
• Vol. 10 Issue 3 - Importance of Knowledge Translation in Enabling Medication Safety
• Vol. 10 Issue 2 - Hospitals Report on Medication Safety in Canada
• Vol. 10 Issue 1 - Medication Incidents Involving Cancer Chemotherapy Agents

2010 - SafeMedicationUse.ca Safety Newsletters and Alerts for Consumers

• Alert: Look-Alike Gravol Ginger Product Causes Confusion for Consumers
• Alert: Take Care with Clear Care® Cleaning and Disinfecting Solution for Contact Lenses
• Alert: Health Canada Warns of Confusion Between Maalox Multi Action and other Maalox Products
• Epinephrine Auto-Injectors - Know How to Use EpiPen and Twinject Properly
• Consumer Identifies Warfarin Error as the Cause of Unexpected Test Results
• Minerals May Interact with Some Medicines. Don't Forget - Keep a List of Your Medicines!
• Mix-ups Between Spouses' Medications Could be Harmful
• Understand How to Take Your Medicines Properly!
• Let People Know Who You Are - Patient Identification
• Consumers Can Help Prevent Mistakes with Medication - Check Your Prescription!
• Take Care with Iron Supplements - "Too Much of a Good Thing" Can be Dangerous!

2009 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 9 Issue 10 - Analysis of International Findings from Incidents Involving Fentanyl Transdermal Patches
• Vol. 9 Issue 9 - Engaging Consumers in Medication Incident Reporting and Prevention
• Vol. 9 Issue 8 - The WHO Provides Guidance to Incident Reporting Programs
• Vol. 9 Issue 7 - Hospital-Acquired Hyponatremia: Two Reports of Pediatric Deaths
• Vol. 9 Issue 6 - Top 5 Drugs Reported as Causing Harm through Medication Error in Paediatrics
• Vol. 9 Issue 5 - Prograf and Advagraf Mix-up
• Vol. 9 Issue 4 - Pharmaceutical Bar Coding: Moving Forward in Canada
• Vol. 9 Issue 3 - Labelling of Iron Products
• Vol. 9 Issue 2 - ALERT: Fatal Outcome after Inadvertent Injection of Epinephrine Intended for Topical Use
• Vol. 9 Issue 1 - ALERT: Revatio (sildenafil) Medication Incident

2008 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 8 Issue 10 - Medication Safety in Long-Term Care
• Vol. 8 Issue 9 - Canadian Medication Incident Reporting and Prevention System
• Vol. 8 Issue 8 - Analysis of a Cluster of Medication Incidents in Community Pharmacy
• Vol. 8 Issue 7 - A Near Miss Involving Cyclophosphamide
• Vol. 8 Issue 6 - Hydromorphone Intended for an Adult Patient Inadvertently Administered to an Infant
• Vol. 8 Issue 5 - Enhancing Safety with Unfractionated Heparin
• Vol. 8 Issue 4 - Prefilled Syringes of Epinephrine and Compatibility with Intravenous Tubing
• Vol. 8 Issue 3 - Drug Interaction Incident with HIV Post-exposure Prophylaxis
• Vol. 8 Issue 2 - Incidents of Inadvertent Daily Administration of Methotrexate
• Vol. 8 Issue 1 - Desmopressin Incidents Identify a Need to Evaluate Monitoring Protocols

2007 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 7 Issue 9 - Medication Reconciliation and Medication Review: Complementary Processes for Medication Safety in Long-Term Care
• Vol. 7 Issue 8 - Demystifying Medication Incident Reporting
• Vol. 7 Issue 7 - Near Miss Identification and Reporting
• Vol. 7 Issue 6 - Patient Report of Insulin Mix-Up Shared
• Vol. 7 Issue 5 - Fentanyl Patch Linked to Another Death in Canada
• Vol. 7 Issue 4 - Fluorouracil Incident Root Cause Analysis: Follow-Up
• Vol. 7 Issue 3 - Automated Dispensing Cabinets in the Canadian Environment
• Vol. 7 Issue 2 - Risk of Mix-ups between Ephedrine and Epinephrine
• Vol. 7 Issue 1 - Unexpected Hypoglycemia: Consider Medication Error in the Differential Diagnosis

2006 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 6 Issue 10 - Appropriate Anticoagulant Use — A Patient Safety Priority
• Vol. 6 Issue 9 - Shared Learning — Reported Incidents Involving Hydromorphone
• Vol. 6 Issue 8 - Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA): Proactively Identifying Risk in Healthcare
• Vol. 6 Issue 7 - Epidural Medications Given Intravenously May Result in Death
• Vol. 6 Issue 6 - ALERT: Potential for “Key Bounce” with Infusion Pumps
• Vol. 6 Issue 5 - Transdermal Fentanyl: A Misunderstood Dosage Form
• Vol. 6 Issue 4 - Eliminate Use of Dangerous Abbreviations, Symbols, and Dose Designations
• Vol. 6 Issue 3 - Medication Reconciliation — In the Hospital and Beyond
• Vol. 6 Issue 2 - Safety Strategies for Potassium Phosphates Injection
• Vol. 6 Issue 1 - Top 10 Drugs Reported as Causing Harm through Medication Error

2005 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 5 Issue 10 - Root Cause Analysis of Medication Incidents
• Vol. 5 Issue 9 - Hospital Medication Safety Self-Assessment™ Program: Update
• Vol. 5 Issue 8 - Tunneled Intrathecal Catheter Mistaken as Central Venous Line Access
• Vol. 5 Issue 7 - System Vulnerabilities across the Spectrum of Care: Another Mix-up between Choral Hydrate and Potassium Chloride
• Vol. 5 Issue 6 - Tragic Error with a Compounded Pediatric Formulation — Shared Learning
• Vol. 5 Issue 5 - Bupivacaine Injection: Check Your Supplies
• Vol. 5 Issue 4 - Report of Near Miss with Succinylcholine Warrants Action
• Vol. 5 Issue 3 - Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia — Effective Communication Can Prevent a Tragedy
• Vol. 5 Issue 2 - Secondary Infusions Require "Primary" Attention
• Vol. 5 Issue 1 - Lowering the Risk of Medication Errors: Independent Double Checks

2004 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 4 Issue 12 - Risk of Tragic Error Continues in Operating Rooms
• Vol. 4 Issue 11 - Morphine Ampoule Look-Alike Packaging ALERT
• Vol. 4 Issue 10 - A Need to “Flush” Out High Concentration Heparin Products
• Vol. 4 Issue 9 - Latent Failures Identified with CADD® Pump Error Analysis
• Vol. 4 Issue 8 - Meperidine (Demerol^®): Issues in Medication Safety
• Vol. 4 Issue 7 - “Paralyzing” Mix-ups in the Operating Room: Improve Safety with Neuromuscular Blockers
• Vol. 4 Issue 6 - An Omnipresent Risk of Morphine-Hydromorphone Mix-ups
• Vol. 4 Issue 5 - Devices with Inflation Ports – Risk for Medication Error-induced Injuries
• Vol. 4 Issue 4 - High Alert Drugs and Infusion Pumps: Extra Precautions Required
• Vol. 4 Issue 3 - Concentrated Potassium Chloride: A Recurring Danger
• Vol. 4 Issue 2 - Look-Alike/Sound-Alike Drug Names: Can We Do Better in Canada?
• Vol. 4 Issue 1 - Infusion Pump Project: Survey Results and Time for Action

2003 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 3 Issue 12 - Methadone: Not Your Typical Narcotic!
• Vol. 3 Issue 11 - More on Potassium Chloride
• Vol. 3 Issue 10 - ALERT: Alarm Not Activated after Infusion Pump Tubing Incorrectly Loaded
• Vol. 3 Issue 9 - Safeguard Against Errors with Long-Acting Oral Narcotics
• Vol. 3 Issue 8 - Chemotherapy Error Prompts Review of Medication Order Processing
• Vol. 3 Issue 7 - Infusion Pumps – Opportunities for Improvement
• Vol. 3 Issue 6 - Enhanced Sterile Water Label Paves Way for National Standard
• Vol. 3 Issue 5 - Human Factors and Substitution Errors
• Vol. 3 Issue 4 - Insulin Errors
• Vol. 3 Issue 3 - Medication Safety and Infection Control
• Vol. 3 Issue 2 - Depo-Medrol^® Confused with Solu-Medrol^®
• Vol. 3 Issue 1 - Reports of Epidural Infusion Errors

2002 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 2 Issue 12 - Neuromuscular Blocking Agents – Time for Action
• Vol. 2 Issue 11 - Report of Incorrect Administration of Epinephrine
• Vol. 2 Issue 10 - Confusion Between SEROQUEL^® and SERZONE-5HT2^® Reported in Canada
• Vol. 2 Issue 9 - Designing Labels with the End-User in Mind
• Vol. 2 Issue 8 - NCCMERP Statement on Medication Error Rates Provides A Clear Direction for Hospitals
• Vol. 2 Issue 7 - Multi-factorial System Problems Lead to a Chemotherapy Mishap
• Vol. 2 Issue 6 - WARNING: Prevent Mix-ups between Conventional amphotericin B (Fungizone^®) and Lipid-based amphotericin B products (AmBisome^® or Abelcet^®)
• Vol. 2 Issue 5 - How to Use ‘Failure Mode and Effects Analysis’ to Prevent Error-Induced Injury with Potassium Chloride
• Vol. 2 Issue 4 - Sentinel Event with Sterile Water – Lessons Shared
• Vol. 2 Issue 3 - Codeine Syrup - Dangerous ‘Near miss’ in the Community
• Vol. 2 Issue 2 - Narcotic Safeguards – The Challenge Continues
• Vol. 2 Issue 1 - Inadvertent Administration of Oral Solutions by Injection

2001 - ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins

• Vol. 1 Issue 3 - Multiple Reports of Confusion Between Lamotrigine (LAMICTAL^®) and Products with ‘sound alike’ / ‘look alike’ Names
• Vol. 1 Issue 2 - Reported Error With Sodium Chloride 3% Reminds Us Of The Need For Added System Safeguards With This Product
• Vol. 1 Issue 1 - Published Data Supports Dispensing Vincristine in Minibags as a System Safeguard