Implement Best Practices to Improve Patient Safety

You’ll see renewed focus on 5 key strategies for improving patient safety...from ISMP’s list of best practices for community pharmacies.

Share these with your team to keep safety top of mind.

Verifying patient identifiers is key to preventing wrong-patient mix-ups. Reinforce confirming at least 2 identifiers (full name, date of birth, etc)...at the counter, on the phone, and prior to giving a vaccine.

Remind the team to work on 1 patient’s Rxs at a time...to limit the chance of inputting orders under the wrong name or mislabeling Rxs.

At pickup, make sure that patient identifiers on every Rx match. Ask patients to check the meds before leaving...even at the drive-through.

Avoiding shortcuts with barcode scanning is critical to ensuring patients get the right product.

Train your team to scan EACH stock bottle or package when loading a robot or filling an Rx using multiple bottles or packages.

And when dispensing a med in its original container, remind the team to NOT cover the barcode with Rx or auxiliary labels. Make sure the barcode is visible...so it can be scanned if the Rx is returned to stock.

Clarifying methotrexate dosing can help avoid serious problems.

Keep in mind, methotrexate is usually one dose WEEKLY for most patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, or other autoimmune conditions. DAILY use is typically reserved for patients with cancer.

Find out how and why patients are taking methotrexate...carefully document these details...and triple-check sigs. Ensure dosing is reviewed with patients or caregivers for both new Rxs AND refills.

Including directions for oral liquids in “mL” limits confusion between teaspoons (tsp) and tablespoons (tbsp)...or teaspoons and mL.

Stay alert for Rx sigs that contain NONmetric dosing units (tsp, tbsp, etc)...and convert the directions to mL.

Also provide a metric calibrated measuring device, such as an oral syringe, with liquid Rxs and OTCs if they don’t come with one. Household spoons are inaccurate...they hold anywhere from 2 to 10 mL.

Learning about errors outside of your pharmacy can reduce the risk of similar problems happening at your location.

Rely on Pharmacist’s Letter and other resources (safety groups, etc)...for reported mishaps and recommendations for prevention.

Huddle with your team regularly to talk openly about safety risks and errors. Focus on the WHY, not WHO is at fault...and take steps to limit future problems.