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Showing results for tags 'Medication'.
Found 1,161 results
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Content ArticleThis article looks at a safety issue around the initiation of humidified oxygen treatment. It examines an incident which resulted in a patient's death when they did not receive oxygen.
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Content ArticleThis report highlights the risk of patient overdose when converting tacrolimus (a medicine used following organ transplantation) from an oral to intravenous route.
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Content ArticleIn this podcast episode, host Aaron Harmon speaks to Dr Neil Vargesson, chair in developmental biology at the University of Aberdeen, about the importance of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and why pre-clinical studies are key to keeping people safe. They discuss the history of Primodos, a hormone-based pregnancy test that was given to women between 1959 and 1978. It was developed before GLP and before standardised testing for teratogenesis (causing birth defects). There are data that suggests Primodos caused birth defects, but more questions remain.
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Content ArticleIn this BMJ paper, Jin-Ling Tang and Li-Ming Li argue that despite the lure of vaccines and new drugs, established public health measures will remain our best tool to control COVID-19 and future epidemics
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Content ArticleA new Information Standard has been published by NHS Digital to support improved medication and allergy/intolerance information sharing across healthcare services in England.
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This joint letter calls on Maria Caulfield MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Patient Safety and Primary Care, to implement in full the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) Review on behalf of those harmed by the side effects of Primodos, Mesh and Sodium Valproate. It is signed by Marie Lyon from the Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests, Kath Sansom from Sling The Mesh and Emma Murphy and Janet Williams from In-Fact. -
Content ArticleIn North America, although pharmacists are obligated to ensure prescribed medications are appropriate, information about a patient’s reason for use is not a required component of a legal prescription. The benefits of prescribers including the reason for use on prescriptions is evident in the current literature. However, it is not standard practice to share this information with pharmacists.The aim of this study was to characterise the research on how including the reason for use on a prescription impacts pharmacists.The results suggest that including the reason for use on a prescription can help the pharmacist catch more errors, reduce the need to contact prescribers, support patient counseling, impact communication, and improve patient safety. Reasons that may prevent prescribers from adding the reason for use information are concerns about workflow and patient privacy.
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Content ArticleThe Central Alerting System (CAS) is a web-based cascading system for issuing patient safety alerts, important public health messages and other safety critical information and guidance to the NHS and others, including independent providers of health and social care. Alerts available on the CAS website include National Patient Safety Alerts (from MHRA, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)), NHS England and NHS Improvement Estates Alerts, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Alerts, and Department of Health & Social Care Supply Disruption alerts.
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Content ArticleBenjamin Lee Stroud died on the 19 March 2021 at home. He lived alone but had a partner who saw him regularly. He had a previous medical history of recreational drugs, including steroids and cannabis; he was recently diagnosed as insulin dependent diabetic and had undergone a kidney transplant. He fell and injured his back at work, and developed a dependence on pain medication, some of which were purchased on the internet. His mental health issues increased as a result of his psychical health problems. A post mortem was undertaken and the cause of death was multiple drug toxicity.
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Content ArticleWhen was the last time your board discussed procurement and its role in your strategy for improving health outcomes? It’s been four months since Heather Tierney-Moore took over as interim chair of NHS Supply Chain and in this blog she reflects on the world of NHS procurement, where it has come from and where it might be going.
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Content ArticleThis training video illustrates guidance from the Department of Health on safe administration of intrathecal medications.
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This is the second in our new series of Patient Safety Spotlight interviews, where we talk to different people about their role and what motivates them to make health and social care safer. Marie talks about her campaign for justice for families affected by hormone pregnancy tests, why she is passionate about reforming medicines regulation and the important role patient campaigners play in improving patient safety. -
Content ArticleIn this study, 156 participants were recruited and randomised to placebo (n=83) or ketamine (n=73), stratified by centre and diagnosis: bipolar, depressive, or other disorders. Two 40-minute intravenous infusions of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) or placebo (saline) were administered at baseline and 24 hours, in addition to usual treatment. The primary outcome was the rate of patients in full suicidal remission at day 3, according to the scale for suicidal ideation total score ≤3. Analyses were conducted on an intention-to-treat basis. The findings indicate that ketamine is rapid, safe in the short term, and has persistent benefits for acute care in suicidal patients. Comorbid mental disorders appear to be important moderators. An analgesic effect on mental pain might explain the anti-suicidal effects of ketamine. There are also some useful and thought-provoking comments on this research, and a helpful visual aid.
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Content ArticleThis is the transcript of a Westminster Hall debate in the House of Commons on fulfilling the recommendations of the Cumberlege Report.
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Content ArticleThis white paper documents a roundtable discussion held at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Health Care in Europe 2021. Participants discussed how smart medication management can be improved to optimise healthcare quality and efficiency. The meeting was chaired by Yu-Chuan (Jack) Li, a researcher of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine and medical informatics, and editor-in-chief of BMJ Health and Care Informatics.
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Content ArticleThis study in Scientific Reports aimed to understand the current situation of occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens in a women's and children's hospital in China. The authors analysed the causes of exposure to provide a scientific basis for improving occupational exposure prevention and control measures.
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Content ArticleOn Wednesday 26 January, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for First Do No Harm (APPG FDNH) held a virtual public meeting on the topic of redress schemes for those who have suffered avoidable harm linked to pelvic mesh, sodium valproate and Primodos. This meeting was an opportunity to hear from representatives of various patient groups about what victims need and what they are missing from current support mechanisms. Below is a recording of the meeting.
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Content ArticleThis index of medications provides evidence-based patient leaflets about the use of different medicines in pregnancy. The leaflets are produced by the UK Teratology Information Service (UKTIS). Women can look up medications to understand their impact on pregnancy and how they may affect the chances of miscarriage and birth defects, and provide information on their own pregnancy to add to the knowledge base around medicines in pregnancy.
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EventMedication errors are a leading cause of patient harm globally. Look-alike, sound-alike (LASA) medicines are a well-recognised cause of medication errors that are due to orthographic (look-alike) and phonetic (sound-alike) similarities between medicines, which can be confusing. Look-alike medicines appear visually the same with respect to packaging, shape, colour and/or size, while sound-alike medicines are similar in the phonetics of their names, doses and/or strengths. Confusions can occur between brand-brand, brand-generic or generic-generic names. Organisations need to prospectively design and implement strategies to identify LASA medication errors and build a robust system that intercepts them before they result in patient harm. At this webinar, WHO will launch their publication “Medication Safety for Look-alike, Sound-alike Medicines”, as part of the WHO technical series on “Medication Safety Solutions”. Preventive strategies that can be implemented by healthcare professionals and organizations will be discussed on how to prevent LASA errors to reduce the risk of medication-related harm. Register
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EventThis conference focuses on improving practice and patient safety to reduce Extravasation Injury, ensuring front line clinicians are aware of the risk of extravasation and how to recognise, treat and escalate extravasation injuries when they do occur. This conference will enable you to: Network with colleagues who are working to reduce Extravasation Injury Learn from outstanding practice in recognizing, treating and escalating extravasation injury Reflect on national developments and learning Ensure vesicants are administered in the safest way Develop your skills in training frontline staff to recognize evolving injuries Understand how you can implement preventative measures Identify key strategies for improvement Educate patients to raise alarm and improve consent procedures Develop protocols to support practice Understand the role and competencies of the NHS trust lead for extravasation Ensure effective treatment, and early intervention in severe wounds Learn from case studies in cancer, maternity, radiology and paediatrics Ensure you are up to date with the latest legal cases Self assess and reflect on your own practice Supports CPD professional development and acts as revalidation evidence. This course provides 5 Hrs training for CPD subject to peer group approval for revalidation purposes. Register hub members receive a 20% discount. Email info@pslhub.org for discount code.
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EventuntilWorld Patient Safety Day, observed annually on 17 September, aims to raise global awareness about patient safety and calls for solidarity and united action by all countries and international partners to reduce harm to patients. Patient and family engagement is one of the main strategies to eliminate avoidable harm in healthcare and ‘Engaging Patients for Patient Safety’ is the defining theme for World Patient Safety Day 2023. Access to safe, quality, and affordable medicines and their correct administration and use is critical for patient treatment and satisfaction. However, harm from medication treatment, including that resulting from a medicine shortage, in hospitals is common. 80 million people in Europe report experiencing a serious medication error during hospitalisation. With the outcomes of enhanced pharmacovigilance practices on medication safety practices in hospitals unclear and widespread deployment and adoption of digitalisation that can contribute to medication safety lagging, error reporting remains one of the most effective strategies to improve patient safety from medication harm. The 72nd World Health Assembly affirms that informed patients and carers could support the elimination of avoidable harm during care delivery. However, in many cases, patients nor their families are unaware of what systems are available to report the error. Therefore, awareness, access and use of patient-centred, user-friendly, reporting systems, will strengthen the evidence base that medication errors are not an unfortunate occupational hazard in healthcare delivery. This webinar will raise awareness of the importance of all stakeholders engaging with patients to improve medication safety in hospitals. It will discuss the importance of ensuring that patients are informed about medication safety and know how to report an unintended medication error when it occurs. Register
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EventuntilAntibiotic resistance is an increasing problem in healthcare, especially in nursing homes, where up to 75% of antibiotics are prescribed inappropriately. Contributing to this is pressure from residents and families, antiquated prescribing practices, and a “What could it hurt?” mentality. Whether you need to rebuild your antibiotic stewardship program from scratch or just want to make sure all the basics are covered, sign up for the Patient Safety Authority "Antibiotic Stewardship Webinar Series". Participants will receive an overview of antibiotic stewardship, assistance in evaluating current policies/processes, and tools to develop an effective programme. Register
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EventuntilAntibiotic resistance is an increasing problem in healthcare, especially in nursing homes, where up to 75% of antibiotics are prescribed inappropriately. Contributing to this is pressure from residents and families, antiquated prescribing practices, and a “What could it hurt?” mentality. Whether you need to rebuild your antibiotic stewardship program from scratch or just want to make sure all the basics are covered, sign up for the Patient Safety Authority "Antibiotic Stewardship Webinar Series". Participants will receive an overview of antibiotic stewardship, assistance in evaluating current policies/processes, and tools to develop an effective programme. Register
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EventuntilInnovative medicines provide the opportunity to transform patient care, pathways, and outcomes. But how do we improve access and uptake of these medicines in a way that is affordable, and that supports the already overstretched health and care workforce. This free online event from the King's Fund is an opportunity to consider some of the key challenges to access and uptake of innovative medicines in England. It will discuss: the current barriers to improving access to new medicines how to build on experiences and lessons from the rapid development, approval and rollout of vaccines and treatments as response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will also consider what more can be done to address inequalities in uptake – especially in areas such as rare disease – and how to support and engage with an already overstretched workforce to improve uptake. Speakers will discuss: patients’ experiences, including how to address issues with variation in access and care how we realise the potential of innovative medicine in the light of the frontline challenges NHS clinicians and patients are facing and engage in the development of new models of care to facilitate uptake. Register
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EventIt is now clear that hormone pregnancy test Primodos, the epilepsy drug sodium valproate, and that pelvic mesh causes avoidable harm to many thousands of women and children. Yet recognising these potential harms took many years, and it is still the case that the service does not know the identities of all those affected or potentially affected. The main reason is lack of data. Knowing which patients have received which medicines and devices where, and quickly connecting longer-term outcomes, has traditionally been somewhere between impossible and extremely slow and difficult. Unnecessary harm has often been the result. So how can the NHS solve this issue? What do we know about the traditional challenges with traceability in healthcare and the shortcomings of current data collection techniques? How can it be ensured that the right products are being used for the right patient? What approaches and technologies might solve these challenges, ensuring that the right products are being used for the right patient? How could this fit into wider digital transformation work, and resulting data best be used to improve patient safety and outcomes? This HSJ webinar, run in association with GS1 UK, will bring together a small panel to consider the answers to these important questions. Register
