As we approach 2021, I take a few moments to look back at some of the biggest stories impacting us this year. Each year is unique and has its own challenges. When it comes to challenges, we all realize 2020 is unprecedented and will stand out in our memories…often for the wrong reasons. As a consultant pharmacist, I get asked for advice daily. In this post, I discuss some of the topics that generated the most questions and drew the most attention from our clients. This is a small sample of topics we helped our partners with this year.
Beyond the Basics: 3 Tips for Protecting Patients During a Public Health Crisis
Let’s start with the elephant in the room…COVID 19. No one ever imagined a pandemic that would impact every aspect of what we do. From trips to the supermarket, to surgery, nothing is quite the same. That being said, we have assessed our systems, made the necessary changes, updated policies and continue to work hard to keep our patients safer than they’ve ever been. Implementing, and adhering to, good infection control practices is critical to minimizing the impact of infectious diseases, including, but not limited to COVID-19. As a consultant pharmacist, I see additional opportunities for infection control practices that may not be as obvious as handwashing or PPE. In June, I wrote about 3 additional tips for protecting patients during a public health crisis.
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. With all the uncertainty and additional work that has taken over our day to day, many of us have turned our attention to potential game changing solutions. With the recent approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, and others on the horizon, we have high hopes for 2021 and should have more answers in the coming months.
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. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced specific actions to address the spread of COVID-19 that will have a direct impact on antibiotic stewardship. While we all know that having an infection control and prevention program is a condition for participation in the federal program, did you know that directly under the umbrella of infection control and prevention is antibiotic stewardship?
The CDC’s Safe Injection Campaign Turns Ten: Compliance Tips from a Consultant Pharmacist
This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) One & Only Campaign turned ten years old. The One & Only Campaign, as you may know, focuses on eliminating unsafe injection practices. In the span of a single decade, healthcare facilities across the country have come a long way in improving patient safety via safe injection practices — but: there is still much work to be done. Despite the strong progress that’s been made since this campaign first launched, a recently published Mayo Clinic Proceedings study found that, between 2012 and 2018, more than 66,000 patients were notified of possible exposure to blood-borne pathogens as a result of unsafe injection practices. We continue to work hard with our clients to develop and enforce systems that increase patient safety and ultimately lead to survey success.
Five reasons why you should comply with USP 800. A consultant pharmacist update.
As a consultant pharmacist I often hear “USP Chapter <800> on hazardous drugs (HDs) was released for informational purposes only. Do I really need to comply with it?” My short answer is always “yes”, but do you know why and how? There are guidelines we must follow and there are guidelines we should follow. At the present time, USP Chapter <800> technically falls in the “should” category. Although you may get away with non-compliance, we provided five reasons why you should be fully compliant.
Are You Ready for the New AAAHC Standards?
The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) 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? There are many areas that your consultant pharmacist should help you, but there are two specific to pharmaceutical services:
- High-alert medications and medications with confused drug names
- Vaccine storage
COVID 19 is impacting the drug supply chain and leading to dangerous shortages.
By now, if you haven’t been impacted by drug shortages, you have at least heard about them. As the pandemic continues, the drugs impacted have changed and the shortages have become more critical. Do you use midazolam, fentanyl, propofol or antibiotics? You will need to have a plan in place to avoid negatively impacting patient care. Drug shortages have been officially tracked for nearly twenty years and yet the problem persists. The drug supply chain is global and so is the pandemic. This includes factories of active pharmaceutical ingredients being shut down in other countries, such as China, who is responsible for nearly 80% of the world’s antibiotics. Is your facility taking the necessary steps to avoid disruptions in patient care? Are you working with an expert consultant pharmacist? In a previous post, we provided Ten Steps to Dealing with Drug Shortages.
Are you ready for Electronic Prescribing requirements?
Beginning January 1, 2021, all prescriptions for controlled substances and medical devices in Massachusetts must be issued electronically unless covered by an exception. As we discussed earlier this year in a post called “Electronic Prescribing and Dispensing”, there are steps you need to take to be compliant. If you haven’t already done so, the end of the year is fast approaching, and we recommend you take action. Do you know which controlled substances are included, what the exceptions are, what the responsibilities of the prescriber are and how to meet the requirements without negatively impacting patient care? These are all questions your consultant pharmacist should be able to answer. Even if you’re not in Massachusetts, many states have either made this conversion or are in the process of doing so. Act now to avoid being out of compliance.
As the year ends, we look back on some of the challenges we have overcome and look forward to new opportunities in the upcoming year. It’s always good to be proactive, and it’s never too late to make improvements. If you missed the chance to discuss any of these topics with us or would like guidance on safe medication management for the upcoming year, please contact us.
The Consultant Pharmacists at OctariusRx provide guidance on safe medication management, survey readiness and cost savings to ambulatory healthcare facilities/surgery centers, senior care facilities and pharmacies We also help individual patients optimize their medications to improve their quality of life and save money. Contact us for assistance.
