May 2013
Cover Story: Standardization Drives OR Medication Safety
Recent Articles
The tragedy of prescription drug addiction is apparent throughout the US. According to the CDC, nearly 15,000 Americans die annually by overdosing on prescription painkillers—more than from heroin, cocaine, and all other illegal drugs combined.1 Increasing prescription opioid abuse means that drug overdoses have become the largest cause of accidental death, surpassing traffic accidents.2Although ... 
The use of ADCs undoubtedly improves medication safety and security; however, the possibility of stocking the wrong medication in the wrong ADC pocket—risking patient medication error—necessitates increased scrutiny of ADC stocking processes. The deaths of several infants in an Indiana hospital in 2006 due to an ADC heparin stocking error exemplifies the vital importance of verifying stocking ... Bar Code-Driven Anticoagulant Education
Anticoagulation medications are more likely to cause patient harm than other medication classes due to their complex dosing, often insufficient monitoring, and inconsistent patient compliance. TJC’s NPSG 03.05.01 highlights the importance of robust anticoagulation education to effective medication management as a required element to reducing the possibility of patient harm. Implementing an anticoagulation ... Author: Bill Stevenson
Issue: April 2013
Beyond Pharmacy
While few facilities permit nurses to compound medications on their units outside of emergent situations, this practice does continue in some facilities. Unfortunately this year saw a drop in the number of facilities where pharmacy is providing proper training for nurses in aseptic technique. Likewise, fewer facilities are requiring media fills to verify the aseptic technique of their nurses who conduct ... Author:
<797> Compliance
Despite a lack of improvement in compliance levels this year, pharmacy directors remain optimistic that full <797> compliance will be achieved in the near future; 67% of those who have not achieved compliance project they will within the next year.
Facility size has a strong impact on how frequently gap analyses are conducted. Only 45% of facilities with fewer than 200 beds have conducted a gap analysis ... Author:
What is the size of your Facility?
- 1 - 100
- 101 - 200
- 201 - 300
- 301 - 400
- 400+
Recent Popular Articles
Current Issue
Subscribe to our Email Newsletters!
- In The Loop!
- Digital Edition
- Special Announcements
Our mission is to provide health system pharmacists with information to streamline pharmacy operations and promote patient safety.