December 12, 2012:
2012 Guidelines on Reporting and Preventing Medication Incidents Now Available
The 2012 version of Medication Incidents: Guidelines on Reporting and Prevention, co-developed by the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP) and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada (ISMP Canada) is now available.These consensus-based guidelines provide practical, best-practice information for healthcare organizations that are establishing programs to report and help prevent medication incidents. They are intended to support enhancements in the quality of patient care through improvements in medication-use systems in a variety of settings. As such, they are intended to augment (not replace) each healthcare organization‘s specific policies and procedures for medication incident reporting and prevention. The updated guidelines cover methods of reporting and analyzing medication incidents, the role of the patient and family, the sharing of learning about medication incidents, and general processes for developing strategies to prevent medication incidents. Background information is also provided on broad topics related to leadership and the nurturing of a culture of medication safety within a healthcare organization, including processes to disclose information about medication incidents.
The guidelines are available free of charge to CSHP members online at http://www.cshp.ca/productsServices/officialPublications/type_e.asp. For nonmembers wishing to purchase a copy of these guidelines, please contact Colleen Drake at CSHP, by telephone at 613-736-9733, ext. 228, or by email at cdrake@cshp.ca
