December 10, 2010: Risk Assessment Program for Medication System Safety in the Long–Term Care Setting
The long–term care environment presents unique challenges for the development and implementation of safe medication systems.ISMP Canada developed the Medication Safety Self–Assessment® (MSSA) for Long Term Care to assist and guide individual
long–term care facilities in identifying opportunities to improve their medication–use systems. The program, which complements
other efforts to decrease the risk of harm to residents, can be used by facilities of any size, organizational structure, and
geographic location. The program’s self–assessment criteria are related to potential system improvements that have been
identified through analysis of medication incidents. Completion of this Medication Safety Self–Assessment helps facilities to
prepare for accreditation, and it can also be an important element of a facility’s quality improvement program.
The program’s web–based interface allows individual long–term care facilities to compare their own results over time, thereby
tracking the impact of any changes made, as well as to compare their results with the aggregate results of other participants in the
program, both regionally and nationally. Several Canadian provinces have supported the use of this program as a component of
quality improvement. The program is also available at a reasonable cost to individual facilities that are not covered by a regional
or provincial agreement.
For more information about the MSSA program for long–term care facilities, please contact ISMP Canada by email
(mssa@ismp-canada.org) or by telephone (1-866-544-7672).
