Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Medication'.
Found 1,161 results
-
Content ArticleMost pharmaceutical products can cause adverse consequences of varying severity and frequency. Authors of this article, published by Drug Safety, look at issues relating to the monitoring the safety of over the counter medicines.
-
Content ArticleThese videos posted by Melissa Sheldrick tell the story of her son Andrew, who died aged eight from a medication error. The investigation into Andrew's death found that he had been given baclofen by his pharmacy instead of the tryptophan he had been prescribed. When tested, the dose of baclofen in the bottle given to Andrew contained three times the lethal dose of baclofen for adults. PSMF Melissa's story. In this video, Andrew's mother Melissa talks about what happened to Andrew and how it led to her campaigning for mandatory reporting of medication errors by pharmacists across Canada, Australia and the US. Patients taking the lead: Collaborating for safer healthcare. This presentation was originally given at the World Health Organization's (WHO's) World Patient Safety Day conference on 12 September 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland. Melissa tells Andrew's story and talks about how she has raised awareness of gaps in accountability for pharmacies and pharmacists. She describes how she was invited to be part of a taskforce to improve safety in pharmacy by the pharmacy regulator in her home state of Ontario—this was the first time a member of the public had been included in such a taskforce.
-
Content ArticleMelissa Sheldrick is a Patient Safety Expert, Patient and Family Advisor at ISMP Canada and member of Patients for Patient Safety Canada. With a passion for improving medication safety for all, Melissa uses her unique perspective as a caregiver with lived experience to drive change and promote a culture of safety within the healthcare system. Her dedication to this work is inspired by her personal experience as a mother who lost her 8-year-old son Andrew to a medication error in 2016. This is their story.
-
Content ArticleStandardising community pharmacy information so it can be shared digitally should reduce the burden on GPs and lead to safer, more personalised care, writes Stephen Goundrey-Smith. The Professional Record Standards Body’s (PRSB) Community Pharmacy Standard enables information to be recorded in the community pharmacy and sent to the person’s GP and all the services covered by the England Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework. Having access to better information will allow the community pharmacy team to take on a greater range of clinical services and reduce the burden on GPs and other parts of the health and care system. It will also raise the profile of the clinical contribution that community pharmacists make to the wider NHS.
-
Content ArticleIn this article, Sharon Hartles highlights the high-profile legal battle involving numerous Primodos-affected claimants against pharmaceutical companies and the government. The court ruled against the claimants, dismissing their claims related to hormone pregnancy tests and foetal harm. This decision led to disappointment and criticism from advocates, MPs, and academics involved in the Primodos scandal. Sharon Hartles is affiliated with the Risky Hormones research project, which is an international collaboration in partnership with patient groups. Additionally, she is a member of the Harm and Evidence Research Collaborative at the Open University. Related reading on the hub: Primodos 2023: The fight for justice continues for the Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests Primodos, mesh and sodium valproate: Recommendations and the UK Government’s response Primodos: The next steps towards justice Patient Safety Spotlight interview with Marie Lyon, chair of the Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests
-
Content ArticleThe Department of Health and Social Care is consulting jointly with the Department of Health Northern Ireland to seek your views on amending the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to enable pharmacy technicians to supply and administer medicines using patient group directions (PGDs). This proposal supports the ambitions of NHS systems across the UK to maximise the use of the skill mix within pharmacy teams, enabling them to meet more of the health needs of their local populations. Deadline: 29 September 2023.
-
Content ArticlePeople rely on prescription medication to treat and manage their conditions and keep well. Based on analysis of public feedback from local Healthwatch and from a webform on pharmacies, this blog by Healthwatch England highlights the challenges people face when trying to get prescription medication. It outlines the following key issues: Shortages of medication Delays in getting repeat prescriptions issued Shortages of staff Closed pharmacies
-
Content Article
Patient Safety Commissioner initiatives
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in England
Patients need to be involved in all aspects of the design and delivery of healthcare and to make quality improvements that prevent harm. The Patient Safety Commissioner website shows examples of where working in partnership with patients and families, listening to patients’ voice and acting upon their concerns have made positive changes. -
Content ArticleIn this podcast episode, Rosie, Sean, Carlton, and Emily share their experiences with Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD), a condition where individuals face persistent sexual side effects and other side effects after taking or discontinuing certain antidepressants. Throughout the conversation, they emphasise the need for increased awareness and research on PSSD, sharing personal stories to shed light on this often-overlooked condition. Despite the challenges they face, they remain determined to advocate for recognition and support for those suffering from PSSD.
- Posted
- 1 comment
-
1
-
- (and 2 more)
-
Content ArticleSexual dysfunction is a common side effect of Serotonergic antidepressants (SA) treatment, and persists in some patients despite drug discontinuation, a condition termed post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD). The risk for PSSD is unknown but is thought to be rare and difficult to assess. This study, published in the Annals of general psychiatry, aims to estimate the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) and PSSD in males treated with SAs.
-
Content ArticleA set of enduring conditions have been reported in the literature involving persistent sexual dysfunction after discontinuation of serotonin reuptake inhibiting antidepressants, 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors and isotretinoin. The objective of this study, published by the International Journal of Safety and Risk in Medicine, was to develop diagnostic criteria for post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD), persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) following serotonin reuptake inhibitors, post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) and post-retinoid sexual dysfunction (PRSD).
-
Content Article
This opinion piece is by Luke* who suffers from post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) after he was prescribed a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. Luke introduces the condition, drawing on the experiences that others have shared through PSSD communities, to highlight the devastating impact on patients. He calls for widespread recognition, improved risk communication and better support for sufferers. *Name has been changed- Posted
- 1 comment
-
1
-
- (and 3 more)
-
Content ArticleThis is the first in a series of podcasts NHS England has produced to mark World Patient Safety Day 2023, and celebrate its theme of ‘engaging patients for patient safety’. The series features some of the Patient Safety Partners that work with the National Patient Safety Team, who play a vital role in providing a patient’s perspective to support our work to improve patient safety. In this podcast, Graham, who became a patient safety partner in 2020, shares his insights on the benefits of involving patients and why he feels it is so important in supporting the NHS to improve patient safety, and talks about his experience as a patient safety partner, particularly working to co-design elements of the medical examiner and medicines safety improvement programmes.
-
Content ArticleHealthcare professionals prescribing fluoroquinolone antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, delafloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, ofloxacin) are reminded to be alert to the risk of disabling and potentially long-lasting or irreversible side effects. Do not prescribe fluoroquinolones for non-severe or self-limiting infections, or for mild to moderate infections (such as in acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) unless other antibiotics that are commonly recommended for these infections are considered inappropriate. Fluoroquinolone treatment should be discontinued at the first signs of a serious adverse reaction, including tendon pain or inflammation.
-
Content ArticleThis review from Davis et al. summarises the biology and consequences of menopause, the role of supportive care, and the menopause-specific therapeutic options available to women.
-
Content ArticleThis debate was requested by Barbara Keeley MP of Worsley and Eccles South, following the death of Emily Chesterton, the daughter of her constituents Marion and Brendan Chesterton. Emily died in November 2022 after suffering a pulmonary embolism. She was just 30 years old when she died. The conclusion of the coroner was: “Emily Chesterton died from a pulmonary embolism, a natural cause of death. She attended her general practitioner surgery on the mornings of 31 October and 7 November 2022 with calf pain and shortness of breath, and was seen by the same physician associate on both occasions. She should have been immediately referred to a hospital emergency unit. If she had been on either occasion, the likelihood is that she would have been treated for pulmonary embolism and would have survived.”
-
Content ArticleCoroners, who hold inquests to determine the causes of unnatural deaths in England and Wales, having recognised factors that could cause other deaths, are legally obliged to signal concerns by sending ‘Reports to Prevent Future Deaths’ (PFDs) to interested persons. This systematic review in Pharmaceutical Medicine aimed to establish whether Coroners’ concerns about medications are widely recognised. The authors found that PFDs related to medicines are not widely referred to in medical journals or UK national newspapers. By contrast, the Australian and New Zealand National Coronial Information System has contributed cases to 206 publications cited in PubMed, of which 139 are related to medicines. The research suggests that information from English and Welsh Coroners’ PFDs is under-recognised, even though it should inform public health. The results of inquiries by Coroners and medical examiners worldwide into potentially preventable deaths involving medicines should be used to strengthen the safety of medicines.
-
Content ArticleExtravasation injuries occur when some intravenous drugs leak outside the vein into the surrounding tissue which can damage the tissue and cause serious harm to the patient. This is a survey for healthcare professionals on approaches to extravasation management outside of cancer care. It is part of a campaign led by the National Infusion and Vascular Access Society (NIVAS) to improve awareness of infiltration and extravasation to reduce avoidable harm.
-
Content ArticleThe Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio aims to use digital technologies to make prescribing, dispensing and administering medicines everywhere in Wales, easier, safer and more efficient for patients and professionals. It brings together the programmes and projects that will deliver a fully digital prescribing approach in all care settings in Wales. This video outlines the different elements of the portfolio that will be introduced across primary and secondary care, including the Shared Medicines Record, which will store information about a patient's medications all in one place.
-
Content ArticleFollowing an extensive process of internal and external engagement, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has published their corporate plan for the next 3 years. Their priorities are: Maintain public trust through transparency and proactive communication Enable healthcare access to safe and effective medical products Deliver scientific and regulatory excellence through strategic partnerships Become an agency where people flourish alongside a responsive customer service culture.
-
Content ArticleVideo of the 10th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit presentations. The event fostered a high-level exchange of ideas and initiatives to improve global patient safety with expert speakers and panelists, inspiring messages from hospital executives, and the sharing of tragic patient stories. The programme ignited further momentum to reach ZERO harm. You can view all the speaker presentations by clicking on the image below. There is also a link to the Patient Safety Movement Foundation website with all the presentations at the end of the page.
-
Content ArticleMaking data on medical interventions easier to collect and collate would increase the odds of spotting patterns of harm, according to the panel of a recent HSJ webinar. When Baroness Julia Cumberlege was asked to review the avoidable harm caused by two medicines and one medical device, she encountered no shortage of data. “We found that the NHS is awash with data, but it’s very fractured,” says Baroness Cumberlege, who chaired the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review and now co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group which raises awareness of and support for its findings. It was a challenge on which Professor Sir Terence Stephenson had cause to deeply reflect back in 2014. That was the year in which he was asked to chair an independent review of medical devices, following concerns about the safety of metal-on-metal hip replacements and PIP silicone breast implants. “The NHS stepped up to the plate really quickly and said: ‘Even if it’s a private hospital that put this in, we will take it out to protect your safety,’” recalled Sir Terence, now Nuffield professor of child health at Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and chair of the Health Research Authority for England. “But the big problem was they couldn’t identify who had which implants. No doubt somebody somewhere had written this down with a fountain pen and then someone spilt the tea over it and the unique information was lost.”
-
Content ArticleMedication nonadherence - when patients don’t take their medications as prescribed - is unfortunately fairly common, with research showing that patients don’t take their medications as prescribed about half the time. The phenomenon has added consequences for patients with chronic disease. When this is the case, it is important for physicians and other health professionals to understand why patients don’t take their medications. This will help teams identify and improve patients’ adherence to their medications. This article by AMA, highlights eight reasons why patients don't take their medications.
-
Content ArticlePatients often have multiple providers involved in their care. On the one hand, patients are able to receive specialty care to help manage multiple, complex medical conditions. On the other hand, such fragmentation in care may lead to medication errors from inaccurate or incomplete patient medication lists. As stewards of their patients' care, it is essential that primary care providers take steps to review and reconcile each patient's medication list to avoid errors or adverse drug events, and organisational leaders must ensure that systems are in place to support these efforts.
-
Content Article
.thumb.thumb.thumb.thumb.thumb.png.7662e0a9bfba7f48330bfeaab4235486.png.f70e8b69d86a4591a3497f66ebf6b040.png)
This blog provides an overview of a Patient Safety Management Network (PSMN) meeting discussion on 9 June 2023. At this meeting, members of the Network were joined by Dr Henrietta Hughes, Patient Safety Commissioner for England. The PSMN is an informal voluntary network for patient safety professionals in England. Created by and for patient safety managers, it provides a weekly drop-in session with guests to talk through issues of importance to patient safety managers, providing information, peer support and safe space for discussion. Find out about the network.
.thumb.thumb.thumb.thumb.thumb.png.7662e0a9bfba7f48330bfeaab4235486.png.f70e8b69d86a4591a3497f66ebf6b040.png)