The PSNet Collection

Potential for medication overdose with ENFit low dose tip syringe: FDA Safety Communication.

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MedWatch Safety Alert. Silver Spring, MD: US Food and Drug Administration; October 12, 2021.

This announcement highlights the possibility of medication administration inaccuracy due to design characteristics of a low dose tip (LDT) syringe. Recommended cleaning methods and other actions for patients, families and clinicians are provided to protect dose precision when using these syringes.

National Patient Safety Goals.

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The Joint Commission.

The National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) are one of the major methods by which The Joint Commission establishes standards for ensuring patient safety in all health care settings. In order to ensure health care facilities focus on preventing major sources of patient harm, The Joint Commission regularly revises the NPSGs based on their impact, cost, and effectiveness. Major focus areas include promoting surgical safety and preventing hospital-acquired infections, medication errors, inpatient suicide, and specific clinical harms such as falls and pressure ulcers.

Good for You, Good for Us, Good for Everybody.

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Ridge K. London, England: Crown Copyright; 2021. September 22, 2021.

Overprescribing has attained prominence as a safety issue due to the current opioid epidemic, but it has long reduced medication safety across the spectrum of health care. The report examines the systemic and cultural issues that contribute to overprescribing and recommends a governmental leadership position to drive change and implement deprescribing and other reduction initiatives.

Canadian Patient Safety Week.

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Healthcare Excellence Canada

This site provides promotional materials for an annual awareness campaign on patient safety that takes place in the autumn. The 2021 observance, focusing on the importance of essential care partners, was held October 25th through 29th.

Accidental exposures to fentanyl patches continue to be deadly to children.

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Rockville, MD: US Food and Drug Administration; 2021.

To protect children and pets from accidental exposure to prescription medications, this consumer alert outlines the dangers of inappropriate storage and disposal of medication skin patches.

Toolkit to Improve Antibiotic Use in Long-Term Care.

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Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; June 2021.

The use of antibiotics should be monitored to reduce the potential for infection in care facilities. This toolkit outlines offers a methodology for launching or invigorating an antibiotic stewardship program. Designed to align with four time elements of antibiotic therapy, its supports processes that enable safety for nursing home residents.

Drive to Deprescribe.

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The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.

Polypharmacy is a known challenge to patient safety. This collective program encourages long-term care organizations, physicians, and pharmacists to take part in a learning network to share aggregated data, lessons learned, and educational opportunities to reduce medication adverse events through safe deprescribing.

Fourth Cause Campaign.

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American Society of Pharmacovigilance.

Adverse drug events (ADEs) are common and contribute to patient harm. This campaign provides materials to raise general awareness of the impact of ADEs on care, hospital admissions, and costs.

"Talk About Your Medicines" Month.

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BeMedWise Program at NeedyMeds, Gloucester, MA.

This Web site provides information and tools that support an educational campaign to encourage high-quality communication about medication use. The annual observance is in October and the last observance focused on the theme of "Medication Adherence – On track with your meds and your health".

Apotex Corp. issues voluntary nationwide recall of Enoxaparin Sodium Injection, USP due to mislabeling of syringe barrel measurement markings.

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MedWatch Safety Alert. Silver Spring, MD: US Food and Drug Administration; February 3. 2021.

Recalls of medical products due to labeling errors are an established proactive safety strategy. This announcement highlights an anticoagulant packaging mistake that could result in dosing errors.

Meitheal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. issues voluntary nationwide recall of Cisatracurium Besylate Injection, USP 10mg per 5mL due to mislabeling.

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MedWatch Safety Alert. Silver Spring, MD: US Food and Drug Administration; January 27, 2021.

Labeling mistakes in the pharmaceutical production cycle can remain undetected until the affected medication reaches a patient. This alert reports a recall of a neuromuscular blocker for use in surgery due to it being mislabeled as a medication to increase blood pressure.

FDA updates vinca alkaloid labeling for preparation in intravenous infusion bags only.

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MedWatch Safety Alert. Silver Spring, MD: US Food and Drug Administration; January 15, 2021.

Vinca alkaloid misadministration is a persistent problem that results in patient harm and death. This alert raises awareness of label changes that aim to mitigate accidental spinal administration of the high-alert chemotherapy agent by supporting infusion bag administration only.

Best Practices in Developing Proprietary Names for Human Nonprescription Drug Products.

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Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research; December 7, 2020.

Nonprescription drugs are commonly associated with medication errors. This draft guidance seeks to provide a structure for industry to reduce instances of drug name confusion in nonprescription formulas of prescription medications. It describes the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vetting process for drug names to improve naming actions prior to submission to the agency. The timeline for submitting comments is early February 2021.

Best Practices in Developing Proprietary Names for Human Prescription Drug Products Guidance for Industry.

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Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research; December 2020.

Look-alike and sound-alike names weaken the safety of medication use. This guidance provides a structure for industry to reduce instances of drug name similarities and describes the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vetting process for drug names to improve naming actions prior to submission to the agency.

Serious Reportable Events in Massachusetts.

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Fillo KT. Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality, Department of Public Health. Boston, MA: Commonwealth of Massachusetts; 2020.

This annual report compiles patient safety data documented by Massachusetts hospitals. The 2019 numbers represent a modest increase in serious reportable events recorded in acute care hospitals, from 1066 the previous year to 1189. This presentation also includes events from ambulatory surgery centers. Previous years reports are also available.

FDA advises health care professionals and patients about insulin pen packaging and dispensing.

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MedWatch Safety Alert. Silver Spring, MD: US Food and Drug Administration; October 13, 2020.

Insulin use errors are common despite their heightened potential for patient harm. This announcement highlights labeling and storage practices to reduce dispensing and administration errors associated with individual insulin pen use.

Network of Patient Safety Databases Chartbook, 2020.

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Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; August 2020. AHRQ Pub. No. 20-0048.

AHRQ has released the Network of Patient Safety Databases (NPSD) Chartbook 2020, which offers an overview of nonidentifiable, aggregated patient safety event and near-miss information, voluntarily reported by AHRQ-listed Patient Safety Organizations across the country between July 2012 and December 2019. The chartbook outlines the extent of harm reported, distribution of patient safety events, near misses, and unsafe conditions. This iteration of the chartbook contains an additional 619,111 reports not included in the prior NSPD chartbook.

Covid-19: Assessing the Risk to Public Protection Posed by a Doctor as a Result of Concerns about their Practice during the Pandemic.

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London, UK: General Medical Council; September 14, 2020.

Physician caregiving effectiveness can be tested during crisis situations. This guidance shares recommendations for leaders assessing complaints against physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic to consider extenuating circumstances when determining next steps in managing the response to poor care delivery.

Patient Safety

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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Organizations worldwide are focusing efforts on reducing the conditions that contribute to medical error. This website provides a collection of reports and other resources that cover activities and concerns of the 37 member countries active in the organization to address universal challenges to patient safety.

FDA recommends health care professionals discuss naloxone with all patients when prescribing opioid pain relievers or medicines to treat opioid use disorder.

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MedWatch Safety Alert. Silver Spring, MD: US Food and Drug Administration. July 23, 2020.

Accidental misuse of prescription opiates for pain can result in addiction, overdose and death. This announcement outlines new federal labeling requirements for opiates and treatments for opioid use disorder. The FDA calls for health care professionals to educate patients about naloxone when prescribing opioid medications to improve the safety of patients taking opiates.

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