Webinar

Enhancing Medication Safety in the Operating Room

Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at 12 noon ET

Patient safety in the operating room (OR) has received increased attention worldwide with the introduction of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist. From a medication management perspective, the OR is a unique environment where high-alert medications are commonly used and medication management processes must accommodate the need to maintain a sterile field.

To assist practitioners to enhance medication safety in the OR, ISMP Canada, with the assistance of an expert panel, has developed the Operating Room Medication Safety Checklist®;. The OR Checklist is a self-assessment tool, accompanied by a web-based data management program, and is complementary to the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist. The OR Checklist content is based on findings from focused safety reviews, medication incident analyses, the patient safety literature, and feedback from pilot testing.

This one hour webinar will provide an overview of medication management challenges in the OR, discuss findings from OR Checklist results submitted to date and review the process for accessing and using the checklist.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this webinar participants will be able to:

• Identify common vulnerabilities related to medication management in the OR;
• Provide examples of medication incidents that have resulted from medication management vulnerabilities in the OR; and
• Understand the value of using a standardized self-assessment program to identify opportunities for enhancement, implement changes and monitor improvement over time.

Contact Us: webinars@ismp-canada.org

Speaker

Shirley Sabovitch, RegN, BScN, FISMPC Shirley is a Medication Safety Specialist at ISMP Canada with over 25 years of clinical and managerial nursing experience. She has practiced in a variety of healthcare settings; acute care hospitals (critical care, peri-operative suite, obstetrics, utilization management and discharge planning); community nursing and long-term care. She has also been involved in teaching undergraduate nursing students at an Ontario university. Currently, Shirley is involved in medication system reviews as part of the ISMP Canada consultation program, delivery of educational workshops (Root Cause Analysis and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis across Canada), and responding to general inquiries received by ISMP Canada for the purpose of enhancing medication safety and facilitating knowledge translation.

Background

Related Links:

ISMP Canada Safety Bulletins:

• Fatal Outcome after Inadvertent Injection of Epinephrine Intended for Topical Use
• "Paralyzing" Mix-ups in the Operating Room: Opportunity to Improve Safety with Neuromuscular Blockers
• Risk of Tragic Error Continues in Operating Rooms

• WHO Surgical Safety Checklist
• Surgical Safety Checklist - Canadian Version

Contact Information