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Adopt strategies to manage look-alike and/or sound-alike medication name mix-ups.

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ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute care edition. June 2, 2022;27(11):1-4.

Minimizing look-alike/sound-alike medication risk is a universal need across health care. This story highlights a primary prevention tool that lists problematic drug names. It shares strategies across the medication use process to reduce errors associated with similarly named and labeled medications such as separate storage areas and tall man lettering.

At US hospitals, a drug mix-up is just a few keystrokes away.

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Kelman B. Kaiser Health News. April 29, 2022.

Technological solutions harbor unique risks that can result in patient harm. This article shares a response to reports of automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) menu selection limitations that contribute to mistakes. The piece suggests the implementation of a 5-letter search requirement prior to removing a medication from an ADC. It provides an update on industry response to this forcing function recommendation.

Three new best practices in the 2022-2023 Targeted Medication Safety Best Practices for Hospitals.

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ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute care edition. February 10, 2022:27(3):1-6.

Best practices evolve over time, given experience and evidence associated with their use. This article summarizes 3 new areas of focus included in current recommendations for sustaining medication safety. The new practices focus on improving the safety of oxytocin use, enhancing vaccine administration through bar coding, and implementing multifocal efforts to reduce high-alert medication errors. A survey accompanies the article to gather data on the presence of the new recommendations in the field.

Start the year off right by addressing these top 10 medication safety concerns from 2021

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Medication Safety Alert! Acute care edition. January 27, 2022;27(2):1-6.

Medication errors are a consistent threat to safe patient care. This newsletter article analyzes events submitted to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in 2021 and highlights those that are COVID-related or common, yet preventable, if practice recommendations and system improvements are applied.

Curated Libraries

Medication/Drug Errors

Prevent errors during emergency use of hypertonic sodium chloride solutions.

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ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute care edition. November 4, 2021;26(22); 1-4.

Delays in diagnosis and treatment during life-threatening emergencies such as strokes can result in irreversible patient harm. This article discusses a variety of factors contributing to errors in administering hypertonic sodium chloride in emergent situations. The piece shares recommendations touching on various elements of the medication delivery process to enhance safety.

Disrespectful behavior in healthcare: has it improved? Please take our survey!

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ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute care edition. September 9, 2021;26(18);1-5.

Disrespectful behavior is a persistent contributor to failures in medical care. This article summarizes influences that enable the acceptance and perpetuation of unprofessional behaviors and calls for data to assess its presence and impact in health care environments. The deadline for survey participation is now closed.

Mix-ups between the influenza (Flu) vaccine and COVID-19 vaccines.

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ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute care edition. October 7, 2021;26(20):1-4.

Production pressure and low staff coverage can result in medication mistakes in community pharmacies. This article shares reported vaccine errors and factors contributing to mistaken administration of flu and COVID vaccines. Storage, staffing and collaboration strategies are shared to protect against vaccine mistakes.

Parenteral nutrition safety.

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Mirtallo JM, Ayers P. Pharmacy Practice News. September 7, 2021;48(9):17-20.

Parenteral nutrition (PN) processes contain various steps that are prone to errors resulting in patient harm. This article discusses standardization as a strategy to reduce the potential for missteps and shares resources for process evaluation to improve PN reliability and safety.

The pain was unbearable. So why did doctors turn her away?

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Szalavitz M. Wired Magazine. August 11, 2021.

The opioid epidemic has contributed to uncertainties for pain management patients that result in harm. This article discusses how an endometriosis patient was unable to get prescriptions to manage her pain due to misinformation generated through screening tools designed to identify opioid misuse and inform prescribing decisions.

Geriatric medication reconciliation in the home setting.

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Taylor K. American Nurse J. 2021;16(7):14-17.

Medication reconciliation reduces the potential for problems in complicated medication regimens. This article shares strategies for reconciling medications for older patients in the home to ensure their medication use is safe and appropriate.

Administration of concentrated potassium chloride for injection during a code: still deadly!

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ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute care edition. June 3, 2021; 26(11): 1-5.

Concentrated potassium chloride is a high-alert medication for which dosing errors are particularly injurious. This article shares the root causes of IV-push missteps with this medication during a code. Recommendations for improvement shared center on team characteristics and communication.

More can be done to alleviate errors associated with pharmaceutical product labeling and packaging.

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ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute Care Edition. May 6, 2021;26(9):1-4.

Look-alike labeling is a known contributor to medication errors. This article summarizes common factors resulting in packaging and labeling concerns. Recommendations for improvement include partnerships with industry regarding the use of risk management practices to improve the accuracy of labeling prior to product launch.

Any new process poses a risk for errors: learning from 4 months of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations.

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ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute Care Edition. April 22, 2021.26(8):1-5.

Process change can introduce opportunities for error into established practice. This article builds on results of an earlier survey to expand the record on the types of COVID vaccine errors such as wrong patient age, dilution problems, and vaccine card confusion.

Survey by Ohio regulator shows stress, fatigue among pharmacists at chain stores.

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Kaplan A. NBC News. April 21, 2021.

Pharmacies are high-pressure environments generating conditions that undermine safety. This story highlights working conditions in chain pharmacies that cause concerns for pharmacists in their ability to prepare and dispense medications safely due to lack of appropriate staffing and time to do their jobs.

A recurring call to action: every healthcare organization needs a medication safety officer!

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ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute care edition. February 25, 2021;26(4);1-4.

Leadership roles exist in a variety of clinical areas to support safe, effective practice. This article introduces medication safety officers as a targeted strategy to enhance implementation of initiatives addressing challenges in reducing the safety of pharmaceutical therapies and direct organizational learning from medication errors.

Families are struggling to use medicines at home — we must truly involve them in their own safety.

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Morris S, O’Hara J. Pharmacuetical Journal. February 26, 2021.

It is a challenge to track medical errors that take place in the home environment, yet it is understood they happen and can cause harm. This article discusses errors that parents make in providing medications to their children. The authors advocate for engaging parents as partners to improve care safety in the home.

Updated guidance needed for longstanding large volume parenteral (LVP) labeling and packaging problems.

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ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute care edition. February 11, 2021;26(3):1-4.

Packaging and labeling problems hinder safe medication use. This article discusses label appearance and information design as distinct factors that affect the safe use of premixed large volume intravenous solutions.

Drug shortages amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Bookwalter CM. US Pharmacist. 2021;46(2):25-28.

COVID-19 has increased uncertainties in sectors across health care. This article discusses a variety of supply-chain factors that impact medication availability. The author suggests roles for pharmacists in antibiotic stewardship and policy implementation to manage shortages safely.

Start the year off right by preventing these top 10 medication errors and hazards from 2020.

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ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute care edition. January 27, 2021;26(2).

Medication safety is challenged by both persistent problems and emerging situations. This article summarizes reports of errors submitted voluntarily to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) in 2020. The set list includes both pandemic-related hazards and common problems such as use of abbreviations and opioid-naïve patient prescribing.

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