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?
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 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?
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 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?
The FDA recommends prescribers discuss naloxone when prescribing opioids or medications to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). In a recent Drug Safety Communication posted on July 23, 2020, the FDA made the recommendations about naloxone in an effort to reduce the risk of death from opioid overdose. Do you know what the FDA is recommending? What steps do you need to take as a prescriber?
Medications used during surgery could be putting your patients at risk and increasing your facility and practitioner liability. Are you using Sugammadex (Bridion®) or Aprepitant (Emend®)? If so, are you providing education on discharge to your female patients about the potential increased risk of pregnancy?
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.
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.
Safe injection practices are one of the most commonly cited deficiencies by certification and accreditation agencies. But there is good news, your consultant pharmacist can help you avoid deficiencies! Here are the ten commonly cited issues and my recommendations for survey success.
