October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the OctariusRx team is recognizing the annual campaign to increase awareness of this disease.
Category: Senior Care Facilities
It’s Fall Prevention Awareness Week
It’s Fall Prevention Awareness Week and the OctariusRx team is recognizing and helping to spread the word from the National Council on Aging (NCOA). Falls are not a natural part of aging and whether they happen at home or in health care facilities such as nursing homes or ambulatory surgery centers, the outcomes can be devastating.
The National Alert Network issued an alert regarding wrong-route errors
The National Alert Network issued an alert regarding wrong-route errors with tranexamic acid. The reported cases involved the accidental spinal injection of tranexamic acid instead of a local anesthetic to provide regional anesthesia. Some of the contributing factors in these cases, as well as other mix-ups, include vials with similar caps and poor syringe labeling.
Working with a Consultant Pharmacist to Open an ASC
Working with a Consultant Pharmacist to Open an ASC is something every organization should consider. Opening an ASC requires extensive organization and collaboration between various experts. Involving a highly qualified consultant pharmacist among your team of expert advisors will help ensure patient safety, regulatory compliance, and survey success. Are you considering opening an ASC? Have you gathered all the necessary advisors to ensure your grand opening is as seamless as possible?
Happy Labor Day Weekend!
Happy Labor Day Weekend from all of us at OctariusRx!
Labor Day is a time to recognize the hard work of Americans and allow a day to relax and reflect on a job well done. It’s a time for us to acknowledge all the work that we do throughout the year, and the work that those around us do.
Thank you to our team members, our clients, and vendors for your hard work. We appreciate all that you do throughout the year.
"My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people; those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition." — Indira Gandhi
Are You Ready for the New AAAHC Standards?
Are you ready for the new Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) standards? The accreditation handbook has been updated with an expected implementation date of November 1, 2020. The new standards include more concise language, more consistency, less repetition and of course, new standards on current best practices and regulatory requirements. Is your facility fully compliant? Do you have a consultant pharmacist on your team to help you?
Look-alike-sound-alike Risks with Flu Vaccine and Insulin
Look-alike-sound-alike risks with flu vaccine and insulin may not be something you normally consider, but the risk of patient harm is extremely high. Do you have a facility specific look-alike-sound-alike list? Is it updated annually and posted in areas of medication administration? As a consultant pharmacist, I have the following five suggestions for minimizing risks and increasing patient safety.
Medication Competency and Your Consultant Pharmacist
Medication competency and your consultant pharmacist are two things that should go hand-in-hand. We all know that ongoing education and assessments are required to demonstrate staff competency and safe medication management is no exception. How are you assessing your staff? Can your consultant pharmacist help?
COVID-19 Vaccine Approval: Is the Answer that Easy?
The race to the first Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved COVID19 vaccine is on, but is the answer that easy? Probably not, but we all have high hopes for returning to the “normal” world we once knew. Although we are all hoping for a one hundred percent effective vaccine with life-long immunity, reality may be completely different.
New Drug Shortages and the Second Wave of COVID-19
With new COVID-19 outbreaks occurring across the country and the world, the concern for drug shortages is heightened. What drugs are impacted and how do they affect your organization? Do you have a contingency plan in place to deal with unexpected shortages? Work with your consultant pharmacist to resolve these issues quickly and efficiently so that patient safety and your day-to-day operations are not impacted.