While adhering to all of the ISMP 2022-2023 Targeted Medication Safety Best Practices for Hospitals may be difficult for some organizations, Pharmacy Times has identified three of the most important.
The targeted medication safety best practices aim to address problems in health system pharmacies that continue to cause fatal and harmful errors. PT reports that implementing the top three they’ve identified can vastly improve medication safety and reduce the risk of patient harm.
The three practices are:
- Safeguard against errors with oxytocin use. This includes avoiding bringing oxytocin-infused bags to a patient’s bedside until it is prescribed and needed.
- Maximize barcode verification before medication and vaccine administration by expanding the use beyond inpatient care areas. This is particularly useful if health systems target clinical areas with an increased likelihood of a limited or short patient stay, such as emergency departments, labor and delivery and radiology.
- Layer numerous strategies throughout the medication-use process to improve safety with high-alert medication.
Read the full text of the Pharmacy Times article here.
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