April 2004
- In accordance with our national mandate, ISMP Canada is now in the process of translating our website and bulletins into the French language in order to provide medication safety support services to French speaking practitioners and hospitals. We are pleased to have retained Marie-Claude Poulin of Montreal University Health Centre - Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), who will assist us with related projects. Marie-Claude is a hospital pharmacist and currently serves as the risk management advisor to CHUM. ISMP Canada has a collaborative agreement with CHUM for mutual support in patient safety initiatives.
- The Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA) has recently expanded its scope on patient safety activities. There is a newly created Patient Safety Advisory Committee with ISMP Canada as a member along with other key stakeholders. There are plans to revise the standards related to medication use, identify medication safety indicators and propose specific patient safety goals for Canadian hospitals.
- The British Columbia Patient Safety Task Force, under the auspices of the BC Ministry of Health, has recently invited ISMP Canada into a patient safety collaborative. Like hospitals in the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, hospitals in British Columbia will have the option of participating in the Medication Safety Self-Assessment® program. Healthcare facilities and staff will also receive the ISMP (US) Medication Safety Alert! and the ISMP Canada Safety Bulletin.
