How Safe Are Your Medication Processes?
When assessing the safety of the medication use process within
your facility or organization, ask yourself the following questions:
"Does your organization
- View patient safety as a "project" or priority instead of part of its mission?
- Have difficulty collecting medication error reports? Measure medication safety by comparing "error
- Assign medication errors to a particular group (nurses
or pharmacists) or particular clinical area?
- Continually observe the same medication errors, no
matter what solution is proposed?
- Counsel, educate, or discipline employees when medication
- Struggle with instituting a "non-punitive" culture of safety?
- Have difficulty coordinating medication safety efforts
- Struggle with trying to control the drug formulary?
- Hear criticism from staff on new products and devices?
- Observe more errors when you introduce technology designed
to improve safety and prevent errors?
- Believe that medication errors rarely occur within the
- Believe it's done everything possible to improve the
medication use process?
If you have answered "yes" to any or all
of these questions, then an ISMP consulting
visit will benefit your organization.