January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month. Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the United States.
Tag: Joint Commission
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Are Expired Medications Still Good?
Are Expired Medications Still Good? As a consultant pharmacist, I get asked this question almost daily. Whether it’s from a patient at home, someone at a nursing facility or an ambulatory surgery center, we all encounter expired medications. Can you still use them? Should you replace them? How should you handle expired medications?
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Be Antibiotic Aware: U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week
Be Antibiotic Aware and join the CDC’s educational effort to help improve antibiotic prescribing and use in the United States. The U.S Antibiotic Awareness Week kicks off today and runs through November 24th.
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How to Cut Costs with Benchmarking: Tips from a Consultant Pharmacist
How to cut cost with benchmarking is not a question we normally hear. We know facilities need to obtain and monitor both internal and external benchmarking as a requirement of accrediting organizations such as the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). We also know finding cost effective medications is a priority that can have a big impact on profitability. Is it possible to use benchmarking to save money? Yes! And here is how.
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Happy Halloween Weekend!
Happy Halloween Weekend from the OctariusRx team! Halloween can be a scary time of year. This year we celebrate this holiday weekend with our list of “Top Five Scariest Things” and our suggestions for dealing with them. Can you guess what’s on the list?
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Happy Columbus Day!
Happy Columbus Day from our team at OctariusRx. Whether you’re celebrating the sailor or the indigenous people who already lived in the “new world”, we think it’s a great opportunity to honor the spirit of exploration.
“In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.”
― Ansel Adams
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Can You Spot the Patient Safety Issue?
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?
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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.
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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?
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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