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Showing results for tags 'Adminstering medication'.
Found 168 results
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Content ArticleThe World Health Organization Global Patient Safety Challenge, Medication Without Harm, aims to reduce serious, avoidable medication-related harm by 50% in 5 years, globally. Three areas have been identified for early priority action. This technical report addresses Medication Safety in Transitions of Care; why it is a priority, what has been done to address it to date and what needs to be done.
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News Article
Hospitals hit by drug shortages for coronavirus victims in intensive care wards
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Intensive care units across the country are running out of essentials, including anaesthetics and drugs for anxiety and blood pressure, after a “tripling of demand” sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. Six senior NHS doctors working on the front line, and drugs industry sources, say that the health service is running out of at least eight crucial drugs. Hospitals in London, Birmingham and the northwest of England have been especially badly hit. Doctors said they were being forced to use alternatives to their “drug of choice”, affecting the quality of care being provided to COVID-19 patients. They also warned that some second-choice drugs might be triggering dangerous side effects such as minor heart attacks. Ron Daniels, an intensive care consultant in the West Midlands, said the shortages had become “acute” already. “We don’t know what we’re going to run out of next week,” he said. “Safety isn’t so much the issue — it’s quality. It may be that we’re subjecting people to longer periods of ventilation than we would normally because the drugs take longer to wear off.” Daniels added that some of the “second-line drugs” being used might be challenging to a patient’s heart: “We might be causing small heart attacks or subclinical heart attacks.” Ravi Mahajan, president of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, said work was being carried out to “preserve” key drugs for those most in need. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 26 April 2020 -
Content ArticleThis National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) booklet presents information concerning how better design can be used to make the dispensing process safer in community pharmacies, dispensing doctor practices and hospital pharmacies. There are a number of new factors that will impact on the dispensing process, such as: electronic prescription services; auto-id and automation technologies; more responsibilities for pharmacy technicians; and enhanced pharmacy services. These factors have been incorporated into these safer design recommendations Organisations, managers and healthcare workers involved in dispensing medicines should use this booklet as a resource to help introduce new initiatives to further minimise harms from medicines.
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Content ArticleA number of associations and societies across the UK have come together to provide guidance on the safe switching of warfarin to direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). This needs to be undertaken in a phased manner over the 12 week cycle of INR monitoring to protect the supply chain for ALL patients. As highlighted in the guidelines, many patients are not suitable for a switch from warfarin to DOACs and further guidance will be available shortly to support services providing care for these patients.
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Content ArticleThe Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issued this guidance following recent cases, including cases with fatal outcomes, in which patients have received the wrong medicine due to confusion between similarly named or sounding brand or generic names.
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News Article
Health experts criticise NHS advice to take ibuprofen for Covid-19
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Experts have criticised NHS advice that people self-isolating with Covid-19 should take ibuprofen, saying there is plausible evidence this could aggravate the condition. The comments came after French authorities warned against taking widely used over the counter anti-inflammatory drugs. The country’s health minister, Olivier Véran, a qualified doctor and neurologist, tweeted on Saturday: “The taking of anti-inflammatories [ibuprofen, cortisone … ] could be a factor in aggravating the infection. In case of fever, take paracetamol. If you are already taking anti-inflammatory drugs, ask your doctor’s advice.” NHS guidance states that people managing Covid-19 symptoms at home should take paracetamol or ibuprofen. “I would advise against that,” said Prof Ian Jones, a virologist at the University of Reading. “There’s good scientific evidence for ibuprofen aggravating the condition or prolonging it. That recommendation needs to be updated.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 16 March 2020 -
Content ArticleThis document from the Patient Safety Authority outlines final recommendations to acute care facilities in the USA regarding patient weights. The Patient Safety Authority is responsible for submitting recommendations to the Department of Health (Department) in the US for changes in health care practices and procedures which may be instituted for the purpose of reducing the number and severity of serious events and incidents.
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News ArticleA shortage of contraception is causing chaos and risks unplanned pregnancies and abortions, doctors are warning. Leading sexual health experts have written to ministers warning that the supply shortage of contraceptives is beginning to lead to serious problems across the UK. A number of daily pills and a long-acting injectable contraceptive are thought to be affected, including Noriday, Norimin and Synphase. The problem follows a shortage of hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women last year. It is unclear how many women use these types of contraception - overall around three million women take daily pills, and more than 500,000 use long-acting contraception, such as coils, implants and injections. The Royal College of GPs said its members were doing their best to help women find alternatives - there are many different types of daily pill available. Faculty president Dr Asha Kasliwal said; "We are aware that women are sent away with prescriptions for unavailable products and end up lost in a system. This is causing utter chaos." The faculty has teamed up with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the British Menopause Society to write to ministers, asking them to set up a working group to address the problems. The letter warns women are becoming distressed by having to find alternative products that might not necessarily suit them or go without contraception altogether. It said this was affecting the "physical and mental wellbeing of girls and women" and could lead to a "rise in unplanned pregnancies and abortions". Read full story Source: BBC News, 7 February 2020
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News ArticleThe toxicity of a commonly prescribed beta blocker needs better recognition across the NHS to prevent deaths from overdose, a new report warns today. The Healthcare and Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) report focuses on propranolol, a cardiac drug that is now predominately used to treat migraine and anxiety symptoms. It is highly toxic when taken in large quantities and patients deteriorate quickly, making it difficult to treat. The investigation highlighted that these risks aren’t known widely enough by medical staff across the health service, whether issuing prescriptions to at risk patients, responding to overdose calls or carrying out emergency treatment. Dr Stephen Drage, ICU consultant and HSIB’s Director of Investigations, said: “Propranolol is a powerful and safe drug, benefitting patients across the country. However, what our investigation has highlighted is just how potent it can be in overdose. This safety risk spans every area of healthcare – from the GPs that initially prescribe the drug, to ambulance staff who respond to those urgent calls and the clinicians that administer emergency treatment." The report also emphasises that there is a link between anxiety, depression and migraine, and that more research is needed to understand the interactions between antidepressants and propranolol in overdose. Read full story Source: HSIB, 6 February 2020
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Content ArticleThe Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) aims to improve the culture of safety while providing frontline caregivers with the tools and support that they need to identify and tackle the hazards that threaten their patients at the unit or clinic level. Developed by Johns Hopkins safety and quality researchers, the five-step programme has been used to target a wide range of hazards, including patient falls, hospital-acquired infections, medication administration errors, specimen labeling errors and teamwork and communication breakdowns. Notably, CUSP has been used in national and international quality improvement projects that have drastically reduced hospital-acquired infections. Whether your hospital has participated in such projects or is seeking to adopt CUSP, the Armstrong Institute provides resources to help you run a successful programme.
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Content ArticleThe 5th National Audit Project (or NAP5) of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and Association of Anaesthetists was the largest ever study into accidental awareness during general anaesthesia (AAGA). Numerous publications emerged from the project and whereas a comprehensive list of 64 recommendations were made, the full report and associated publications were primarily academic outputs not accessible to all practitioners as a day-to-day ready reference, nor did they provide practical recommendations that individuals could use in their daily practice. The purpose of this publication is to distil and interpret the findings of the 5th National Audit Project into actions that individuals (and organisations) can follow to reduce the risk of accidental awareness.
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Content ArticleThe responsibility of anaesthetists in prescribing and administering controlled drugs has extended not only to the recovery room and intensive therapy unit, but also to acute and chronic pain services both in hospital and home care. These guidelines written by the Association of Anaesthetists recommend best practice for the safe preparation, distribution and disposal of controlled drugs to meet current clinical demands in peri-operative care.
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Content ArticleThe Medication Errors Group was established in 2017 under the leadership of Dr Brian Edwards and Professor Ian Wong.. Ensuring the safe and effective use of healthcare products is a key objective for those who work in pharmacovigilance, as well as all other stakeholders, including patients and caregivers. One key element of that is working to reduce and mitigate medication errors and other irrational use of drugs. The mission of the Medication Errors Group is To provide an opportunity for International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP) members, and like-minded collaborators, to network globally in a professional and neutral environment, to share evidence and solutions that can ideally eliminate and/or at least reduce the number and severity of medication errors. This will enable continuous improvement in the use of medicines whilst supporting the interests of patients and their families, and healthcare professionals.
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Content Article
How to undertake intravenous infusion calculations
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Nursing
As part of the Nursing Standard's 'How to' series, Jane Brindley, a senior lecturer in adult nursing, provides a step-wise, practical approach to undertaking intravenous (IV) infusion calculations. The article also explores the evidence base behind medication errors in relation to calculations. -
Content ArticleHealthcare professionals were made aware of alerts and letters issued about adrenaline auto-injectors in September and October 2019 by the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. This article provides a summary of recent advice issued to healthcare professionals, including information to provide to patients, to support safe use of adrenaline auto-injectors.
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Content ArticleHSIB has identified a significant safety risk posed by the communication and transfer of information between secondary care, primary care and community pharmacy relating to medicines at the time of hospital discharge. A reference event was identified that resulted in a patient inadvertently receiving two anticoagulant medications at the same time, possibly causing an episode of gastrointestinal (digestive tract) bleeding. Increasingly, healthcare facilities in primary and secondary care are introducing digital solutions (electronic prescribing and medicines administration (ePMA) systems) to improve medicines safety. However, analysis of the reference event identified how ePMA systems can create their own risks, risks that will need to be addressed as these systems become more widespread. Other risk factors relating to prescribing and the discharge of the patient, including medicines reconciliation, availability of pharmacy services and weekend working, were identified during the investigation.
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Content ArticlePatient safety is often compromised by confusion over the graphic information on drugs packaging. Injectable medicines are particularly susceptible to medical error. This study gives design guidance to make such packs safer.
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Content ArticleMany seniors remain unaware that certain medications may be harmful, despite high rates of polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use among community-dwelling older adults. Patient education is an effective method for reducing the use of inappropriate medications. Increasing public awareness and engagement is essential for promoting shared decision-making to deprescribe. The Canadian Deprescribing Network was created to address the lack of a systematic pan-Canadian initiative to implement deprescribing among older Canadians. The Canadian Deprescribing Network deliberately included patient advocates in its organisation from the outset, in order to ensure a key strategic focus on public awareness and education. In this paper, Turner et al. present the processes and activities rolled out by the Canadian Deprescribing Network as a blueprint model for engaging the public on deprescribing.
