Tools and Support
The Strengthening Medication Safety in Long-Term Care initiative was publicly launched by ISMP Canada on June 25, 2021. View the webinar recording and PPT slides for an overview of the initiative and the activities that will be implemented.
YouTube Video
PPT slides
High-alert medications are drugs that bear a heightened risk of causing significant patient harm when they are used in error. Although mistakes may or may not be more common with these drugs, the consequences of an error are clearly more devastating to patients.
High-Alert Medications
To effectively improve medication safety in a long-term care home, it is important to recognize and understand what medication incidents are occurring, why, and what evidence-based actions should be taken to reduce the risk of the same incident occurring again.
Incident Analysis
Through the Strengthening Medication Safety in Long-Term Care Project, ISMP Canada will be collaboratively developing metrics and measures that can enable Long-Term Care Homes, oversight organizations, and the Province to monitor the safety of medication management.
Measuring and Evaluating
ISMP Canada is pleased to provide the following Model Policies for testing and feedback to LTC Homes in Ontario.
Model Policy Feedback
Within Long-Term Care homes, Quality Improvement is a journey of residents and families, personal support workers, nurses, physicians, managers, and pharmacists coming together, staying together and working together towards improved outcomes.
During the "Strengthening Medication Safety in Long-Term Care" initiative, ISMP Canada provides support in two areas of Quality Improvement:
- Education and Training in Quality Improvement Techniques
- Coaching and Facilitation of Quality Improvement Teams
Quality Improvement
Residents in Ontario's long-term care are the heart of every home. They have reached a stage in their life where they need to rely on others to support and to care for them, and while there are some residents who cannot be autonomous in their own care, there are many who are able to self-advocate and make decisions for themselves in their medication management. Engaging residents is essential to increasing medication safety and this initiative aims to support you, with resources and education, to do so authentically. Collaboration between staff and residents gives the best possible chance for safe medication experiences.
Resident and Family Engagement
Medication reconciliation (MedRec) is a component of medication safety that can reduce communication and medication errors that have the potential to cause harm at transitions of care to long-term care.
We have developed tools to support MedRec in long-term care, starting with tools to support a systematic process to obtain and document the best possible medication history (BPMH).
Medication Safety at Transitions of Care for Long Term Care Providers eLearning Module
This module will provide an introduction to medication safety at transitions of care for long term care providers. It will also provide techniques, tips and tools to obtain the best possible medication history (BPMH) using a systematic process. This practical approach will teach clinicians how to engage residents and caregivers in a dialogue about their medications and help them to learn how to do medication reconciliation (MedRec) by identifying and resolving medication related discrepancies.
This module is part of the 3-year initiative funded by the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care which enables the module to be without cost to those accessing.
Components of Medication Management Infographic
This infographic describes the components of medication management and how they inter-relate. It begins with an accurate and reliable Best Possible Medication History, the fundamental cornerstone of MedRec.
How to obtain a BPMH in Long-Term Care
This resource provides the information to help providers choose the best sources of information to use and provides a step-by-step guide to obtain a BPMH.
BPMH Self-Evaluation Checklist
This BPMH self-evaluation checklist can help to ensure that a systematic process has been used to obtain a BPMH from a resident or their substitute decision maker.
MedRec Quality Audit Data Collection Tools
These tools were designed for use in Long-Term Care and were developed to allow organizations to assess the quality of their medication reconciliation (MedRec) practices and determine the areas requiring process improvement(s).
Learn about the risks in Medication Safety reported by long-term care homes in Ontario.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Let us know how the Strengthening Medication Safety in Long-Term Care initiative is making a difference in your setting. Contact us with your stories, photos, and videos. With your permission we'll post it here to inspire others to make a difference. Together we will make a difference.
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