Medication near-misses happen more frequently than we like. Are you doing all you can to prevent them? In this week’s post we look at a recent event reported to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices that could have been fatal. We will discuss what happened and give you five steps for improving patient safety.
In this week's post we discuss the approval of Baqsimi nasal powder. This is the first glucagon therapy approved for the emergency treatment of severe hypoglycemia that can be administered without an injection.
Full Time and Part Time Consultant Pharmacist – Massachusetts (North Shore), New Hampshire (Southern), Florida (Southern), Pennsylvania (North East)
In this week's post we discuss managing High Alert and Look-Alike-Sound-Alike medications. These medications require special attention because they can cause significant patient harm when used in error.
This week we talk about medication storage, shortened expiration dating and the big impact it can have on your survey results. Are you prepared?
Does your facility use compounded drugs? Do you get them from an FDA registered 503B outsourcing facility? According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, about 11% of hospitals get compounded drugs from sources that are not registered with the FDA.
In our most recent newsletter issue and during our customer visits, we have shared our updated "Med Safety Quiz". The quiz is designed to actually "teach rather than trick". If you’d like to try these questions and then check your answers, please reach out to us for more details.
One of the key components for meeting the CMS requirements for the proper provision of pharmaceutical services is the requirement to properly store medications. First, we address the general requirements of medication storage. Second, we address the specific requirements for medication rooms and refrigerators. According to F-Tag 761, facilities must store all drugs and biologicals...
Ensuring a medication room is always ready for survey requires minimal effort but requires constant vigilance. Starting with security, medication storage areas must be locked when not being accessed by an authorized person. Schedule II-controlled substances must be maintained within a separately locked permanently affixed compartment (double lock requirement). Proper labeling is also required for...
One of the areas often cited under Pharmaceutical Services during survey is Unnecessary Drugs, which now falls under F757 in the updated State Operations Manual (SOM). The F-Tag states that “Each resident’s drug regimen must be free from unnecessary drugs”. The term Unnecessary Drug is often misunderstood, incorrectly used and poorly applied. Upon hearing it...
