I want to share an update on what proactive steps OctariusRx is taking to keep our customers and our people safe while continuing to provide the exceptional services you rely on. These are unprecedented times and coronavirus (COVID-19) is having a dramatic impact on our lives and on many businesses. We want all our customers and patients to know we have a business continuity plan in place and will continue to provide all the services you are accustomed to.
Category: Ambulatory Healthcare Facilities
The Coronavirus & Antibiotic Stewardship: Advice from a Consultant Pharmacist
Antibiotic stewardship is a global issue and it’s something we all must address. At the facility level, it’s not only a regulatory concern, it’s a patient safety issue. With the ongoing global spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID- 19), the issue of antibiotic stewardship (already a significant focus by the certification and accreditation bodies), has been pushed even further out into the spotlight. Beyond just being a survey challenge, antibiotic stewardship can have a profound impact on patient outcomes — not only today’s patients, but also future patients.
Recognizing National Patient Safety Awareness Week: How Consultant Pharmacists Help
This week, we’re celebrating National Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 8-14, 2020). According to the Institute for Health Improvement (IHI), National Patient Safety Week is an annual recognition event meant to encourage everyone to learn more about health care safety.
Top 5 Ways Ambulatory Care Facilities Can Minimize Patient Risk & Liability
According to the ECRI Institute*, diagnostic testing and medication events are the two greatest risks to patient safety in ambulatory care centers today. As the landscape continues to change and healthcare delivery shifts from hospitals to ambulatory facilities, we will have to develop, and enhance, systems that minimize risks and keep our patients safe. Using the services of a consultant pharmacist can help you enhance patient safety in your ambulatory healthcare facility. The following are five ways in which a consultant pharmacist can help:
A Consultant Pharmacist’s Top 10 Tips for Ensuring Survey Success: Part 2
Is your facility ready for survey? As a consultant pharmacist, I work with ambulatory healthcare facilities to continuously guide and support best practices to ensure patients are safer and surveys are easier, and in this blog, I share insights from my years of experience in this field.
A Consultant Pharmacist’s Top 10 Tips for Ensuring Survey Success: Part 1
Is your ambulatory care facility ready for survey? Ok, ok: that’s probably a rhetorical question as you never feel truly ready, right? Though surveys are routine events for facilities, they can still be unnerving. No matter how prepared you may be, it’s only human to become a bit anxious when faced with an unannounced ‘pop quiz’.
Ambulatory Surgery Center? Get Benchmarking Done with a Consultant Pharmacist.
If you manage an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) or other ambulatory healthcare facility, benchmarking is probably a concern for your organization. Benchmarking is not just a requirement of accrediting agencies such as the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and The Joint Commission (TJC): it’s a critical component of quality assessment and improvement.
Are your policies and procedures up to date?
Drug shortages are still coming up quite frequently in facilities. Is your policy and procedure describing what to do when you have a drug shortage up to date? Do you follow the steps noted in your policy? Is your consultant pharmacist helping by providing you with updated regulatory guidance?
Welcome to our newest partners in medication safety!
We are thrilled to welcome our three newest partners, facilities who have asked us to help them enhance patient safety, reduce risks and increase survey success.
Electronic Prescribing and Dispensing
Beginning January 1, 2021, all prescriptions for controlled substances and medical devices in Massachusetts must be issued electronically unless covered by an exception. This week we discuss the steps you need to take to be prepared because even though it is a year away, it is important to take this time to prepare.