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Showing results for tags 'Medication'.
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Event
EU Regions Driving Medicine Safety Event
Patient Safety Learning posted an event in Community Calendar
untilA digital event showcasing how Northern Ireland is collaborating throughout Europe to improve medicines use. To register email: moic@northerntrust.hscni.net -
EventuntilPatient Safety: Embracing technology in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment to reduce medication errors. In England 237 million mistakes occur at some point in the medication process. By embracing technology that already exists, we may actually hold the key to being able to significantly reduce this figure. Join Andrea Jenkyns MP, pharmacy and nursing thought leaders and patient safety representatives for an interactive discussion on embracing technology to reduce medication errors. The timing of this event is particularly significant as World Patient Safety Day takes place the following day and so these issues should be at the forefront of policy makers minds. Confirmed panelists include: Prof. Liz Kay, Former Director of Pharmacy at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Heather Randle, Lead for Medication Management at Royal College of Nursing Clive Flashman, Chief Digital Officer at Patient Safety Learning Ed Platt, Automation Director, Omnicell Registration
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Content ArticleThe Patient Safety Authority has put together information and tips for patients on a range of topics.
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Content ArticleThe purpose of the US Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals is to improve patient safety. The goals focus on problems in healthcare safety in the USA and how to solve them. They include identifying patients correctly, improving staff communication, use medicine safely, use alarms safely, prevent infection, identify patient safety risks and prevent mistakes in surgery.
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Content Article
CPSI: Keeping seniors safe (15 May 2020)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Older people
The goal of this virtual discussion is to explore practical solutions for keeping seniors safe. The ideas are drawn from real life experiences noting how COVID-19 impacted seniors, their loved ones as well as healthcare workers and leaders. The focus of the discussion is on identifying safety risks together with practical solutions for seniors who live at home, in residences and long-term care facilities. Watch the webinar on demand and download the slides. -
Content ArticleMiranda Davies considers the difficult issue of the NHS's ability to get hold of basic drugs for patients who need them - and how the pandemic may be affecting this.
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Content ArticleBC PSLS met with Wrae Hill, Human Factors and System Safety, Interior Health (IH), to discuss medication error traps. They use the example of an anaesthetist who, during an emergency C-section, under time constraint, gave their patient the drug cisatracurium instead of succinylcholine. Both medications are used for muscle relaxation and paralysis, however cisatracurium has a much longer duration of action. Cisatracurium was available in the Labour and Delivery Suite, but the vial cap of cisatracurium had previously been blue, yet today it was red. This ‘medication error trap’ – a recurrent situation that predictably snares a large number of different people – resulted in the patient having to be ventilated for longer than anticipated.
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Content Article
AHRQ Pharmacy Health Literacy Center
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Medicine management
This site provides pharmacists with recently released health literacy tools and other resources from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Pharmacy health literacy is the degree to which individuals are able to obtain, process, and understand basic health and medication information and pharmacy services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Only 12% of adults have proficient health literacy (e.g., can interpret the prescription label correctly). Medication errors are likely higher with patients with limited health literacy, as they are more likely to misinterpret the prescription label information and auxiliary labels. Studies document an association between low literacy and poor health outcomes. -
Content ArticlePeek et al. evaluated the impact of the pharmacist-led Safety Medication dASHboard (SMASH) intervention on medication safety in primary care. SMASH was developed by researchers at the National Institute for Health Research Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (NIHR GM PSTRC), which is a partnership between The University of Manchester and Salford Royal hospital in collaboration with The University of Nottingham. Pharmacists working in general practice use the SMASH dashboard to identify patients who are exposed to potentially hazardous prescribing. The study found that the SMASH intervention was associated with reduced rates of potentially hazardous prescribing and inadequate blood-test monitoring in general practices. This reduction was sustained over 12 months after the start of the intervention for prescribing but not for monitoring of medication. There was a marked reduction in the variation in rates of hazardous prescribing between practices.
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Content ArticlePrimary care doctors traditionally provide a longitudinal and holistic view of their patients’ prescriptions, but there are barriers to general practitioners (GPs) carrying out effective reviews in complex patients with polypharmacy. These include unawareness of inappropriate prescribing; fear of the consequences of making changes to prescriptions; lack of self-efficacy (insufficient confidence to make changes); and lack of resources. GPs regularly carry out medication reviews for those taking multiple medicines, often with the support of pharmacists, but report a need for onward referral options to physicians specialising in multimorbidity and polypharmacy. In partnership with pharmacy colleagues, the authors of this study piloted an outpatient polypharmacy clinic, with the eventual hope of moving towards an integrated service. The pilot demonstrated the feasibility of establishing a specialist service in the secondary care or integrated care setting, dedicated to improving clinical outcomes for those experiencing problematic polypharmacy. This paper was published in Future Healthcare Journal.
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Content ArticleThis resource, written by the Royal College of Nursing, is intended for any registered nurse working with medicines as part of their role. The principles of medicines management however, apply across all health care settings and for non-registered staff.
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Content ArticleWhile approximately one in ten Americans suffers from a rare disease, only 5% of rare diseases have a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved treatment. Congressional and regulatory efforts to stimulate the development of rare-disease treatments, while laudable, have not resolved the fundamental issues surrounding rare-disease treatment development. Indeed, small patient populations, incomplete scientific understanding of rare diseases, and high development costs continually limit the availability of rare-disease treatments. To illustrate the struggle of developing and approving safe rare-disease treatments, this article from While approximately one in ten Americans suffers from a rare disease, only 5 percent of rare diseases have a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved treatment. Congressional and regulatory efforts to stimulate the development of rare-disease treatments, while laudable, have not resolved the fundamental issues surrounding rare-disease treatment development. Indeed, small patient populations, incomplete scientific understanding of rare diseases, and high development costs continually limit the availability of rare-disease treatments. To illustrate the struggle of developing and approving safe rare-disease treatments, this article from Julien B Bannister begins by discussing the approval of Eteplirsen, the first drug approved for treating a rare disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy. After exploring the current drug regulation system and how this impacts the availability of rare-disease treatments, he examines the 21st Century Cures Act's patient experience data provisions and the pending Trickett Wendler Right to Try Act. Ultimately, the unmet therapeutic needs of rare-disease patients can be met while protecting patient safety. Bannister reasons that, if carefully implemented, the 21st Century Cures Act and the Trickett Wendler Right to Try Act could work in tandem to safely facilitate patient access to rare-disease treatments.
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Content ArticleThis good practice guide was been developed in consultation with an advisory group of leading clinicians specialising in dementia. It aims to provide evidence-based support, advice and resources to a wide range of health and social care professionals caring for people with dementia who have behavioural and psychological symptoms. It has been designed to be a practical, informative tool, with an emphasis on alternatives to drug treatment.
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Content ArticleThis population-based study of all Ontario nursing home residents found increased prescribing of psychotropic drugs at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that persisted through September 2020. Increases in prescribing were out of proportion to expected secular trends, and distinct from observed prescribing changes in other drugs during the pandemic. The authors suggest that the findings underscore the urgency of balancing infection prevention and control measures in nursing homes with the mental wellbeing of residents.
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Content ArticleAntipsychotic drugs are used to treat agitation, aggression, and psychosis in dementia when alternative strategies have failed. Their use has been reduced because of concerns about safety and limited efficacy. Drawing on data that the NHS publishes on a monthly basis on patients registered with a dementia diagnosis in England, this article considers evidence of an increase in antipsychotic prescribing to people with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Content ArticleThe NIHR-supported RECOVERY trial has shown that tocilizumab – an anti-inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis treatment – reduces the risk of death for hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19. Researchers also found that the drug reduces the length of hospital admission, and the risk of patients requiring mechanical ventilation. Last year, the RECOVERY study was the world’s first to show that dexamethasone – a cheap and available steroid – reduces the risk of dying from COVID-19. The latest results from the study also suggests that for COVID-19 patients who have significant inflammation and require oxygen, a combination of a systemic corticosteroid – such a dexamethasone – alongside tocilizumab reduces mortality by about one third for patients requiring simple oxygen and nearly one-half for those requiring invasive mechanical ventilation. RECOVERY is now the second NIHR-supported study to demonstrate the effectiveness of tocilizumab as a treatment for COVID-19 patients, after results from the REMAP-CAP study last month showed that tocilizumab and a second similar drug called sarilumab have a significant impact on survival and can reduce the relative risk of death for critically ill patients in intensive care. The latest results from RECOVERY show that a much wider cohort of COVID-19 patients can potentially benefit from tocilizumab - beyond those critically ill on mechanical ventilation. For this preliminary report, information on the primary outcome was available for 92% of patients. Report has not been peer-reviewed yet.
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Content ArticleThe COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated preexisting weaknesses in the global supply chain. Regional assessments by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), and independent consultants, have demonstrated various contributory causal factors requiring changes in policy, relationships, and incentives within the dynamic and developing networks. Human factors and ergonomics (HFE) is an approach that encourages sociotechnical systems thinking to optimize the performance of systems that involve human activity. The global supply chain can be considered such a system. However, it has neither been systematically examined from this perspective.
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Content Article
Top medication errors reported to ISMP in 2020
Anonymous posted an article in Coronavirus (COVID-19)
One of the most important ways to prevent medication errors is to learn from errors that have occurred in professional practice and to use that information to identify potential risk points or practices to prevent similar errors. This presentation from the Institute of Safe Medicines Practices (ISMP), looks at the top medication errors reported in 2020. -
Content ArticleThe purpose of this study from Nanji et al. is to assess the rates of perioperative medication errors (MEs) and adverse drug events (ADEs) as percentages of medication administrations, to evaluate their root causes, and to formulate targeted solutions to prevent them.
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Content ArticleIt has been estimated that, on average, a serious mistake in medication administration occurs once in every 133 anaesthetic medications. Anaesthetic medications often have a narrow therapeutic window, raising the potential for adverse outcomes including harmful physiological disturbances, awareness, anaphylaxis and even death. Marshall and Chrimes in this editorial examine the causes of the medication‐handling problem and discuss solutions that address the human factors considerations.
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Content ArticleThe author of this review argues that, while many of us benefit from advances and new technologies used in medical drug development, there is one group that has barely made any gains at all: pregnant women. This review presents an overview of the current situation for this group, the issues and the available evidence; as well as exploring the barriers and options in better addressing pregnancy and maternal health. This document was written on behalf of the Birmingham Health Partners Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation.
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Content ArticleWomen receiving treatment for epilepsy are being urged to discuss with a healthcare professional the right treatment for them if they anticipate becoming pregnant even sometime in the future, following a Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) safety review. Lamotrigine (Lamictal) and levetiracetam (Keppra) have been found to be safer than other antiepileptic drugs in pregnancy. The MHRA advises patients not to stop taking their current medicines without first discussing it with a healthcare professional.
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Content ArticleThis article from Peden et al. reviews of some of the key topics and challenges in quality, safety, and the measurement and improvement of outcomes in anaesthesia. Topics covered include medication safety, changes in approaches to patient safety, payment reform, longer term measurement of outcomes, large-scale improvement programmes, the ageing population, and burnout. The article begins with a section on the success of the specialty of anaesthesia in improving the quality, safety, and outcomes for our patients, and ends with a look to future developments, including greater use of technology and patient engagement.
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Content ArticleThe National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-supported RECOVERY trial has found no clinical benefit from the antibiotic azithromycin for hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19.
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Content ArticleAs prescription numbers continue to increase, it is necessary to understand the dispensing errors that can occur and how they may happen. This article is the first of two articles from Phipps et al. on dispensing errors and risk. Reducing risk and managing dispensing errors will build on the ideas proposed in this article.
