… medication preparation alerts in the hospital's pharmacies. More than 40% of alerts were identified as …

The origins of the opioid epidemic are multifactorial in nature. This review provides an overview of the opioid crisis and describes current interventions to address the problem. The authors suggest that pharmacists can play a key role in improving opioid safety by performing medication review and counseling, educating patients and communities about appropriate pain management, and referring patients to addiction treatment.

Intravenous medication administration errors related to smart pumps can compromise patient safety. Prior research has shown that such errors are common and often involve incorrect dosing and workarounds. Researchers describe the development and implementation of a multicomponent safety intervention bundle developed to reduce medication administration errors associated with smart pump use. Although both the overall error rate and medication error rate per 100 medication administrations decreased, the intervention did not lead to a reduction in the rate of potentially harmful errors. A past PSNet perspective discussed the use of smart pumps to improve safety.

Medication prescribing errors are common in teaching hospitals. This commentary relates strategies for trainees and preceptors to prevent errors, the importance of a medication safety culture, and the value of engaging trainees in event investigations. The authors also highlight the role of organizational leadership in establishing a culture that facilitates discussion of error to support medication safety.