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Showing results for tags 'Medication'.
Found 1,118 results
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Content ArticleThis article in the journal JAMA Network Open aimed to determine if the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Safety Program for Improving Antibiotic Use, an educational initiative to establish antibiotic stewardship programs focusing on patient safety, is associated with reductions in antibiotic use in long term care settings. The authors looked at 439 long term care settings and found that participation in training on antibiotic stewardship from AHRQ was associated with a reduction in antibiotic use and urine culture collection. Fluoroquinolones, an antibiotic class targeted by the AHRQ safety program, had the greatest decrease.
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Content ArticleUnsafe medication practices and medication errors are a leading cause of injury and avoidable harm in health care systems across the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the Third WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm to improve medication safety. Considering the huge burden of medication-related harm, Medication Safety has also been selected as theme for World Patient Safety Day 2022. WHO has launched a series of webinars to introduce the strategic framework for implementation of the Challenge, technical strategies, tools and provide technical support to countries for reducing medication-related harm. The webinars share country and patient experiences in implementing the Challenge. This webinar focuses on the role of patients and their families in improving medication safety, recognising that they are the only constants in increasingly complex healthcare systems, and that they can provide essential information and feedback.
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Content ArticleSharon Hartles is a critical criminologist and member of the Open University’s Harm and Evidence Research Collaborative. In this blog, Sharon reflects on events that have unfolded since the publication of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review 'First Do No Harm' report and the Government's response to it. She examines ongoing failures in the government's response and fulfilment of their policy recommendations. Related reading Primodos, mesh and sodium valproate: Recommendations and the UK Government’s response (Sharon Hartles, August 2021) Primodos: The next steps towards justice (November 2020) Mesh: Denial, half-truths and the harms (March 2021) Sodium Valproate: The Fetal Valproate Syndrome Tragedy
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Content ArticleMedication errors can occur at any point in the system for prescribing, dispensing and administering drugs in the NHS – and can often be the result of human errors creeping in as burned out staff misread or miscalculate the amount needed. This article in the Health Services Journal examines how closed loop medication management systems can improve patient safety by ensuring patients are prescribed the right dosage of the right medications. The author speaks to Islam Elkonaissi, former lead pharmacist for cancer services in Cambridge, about the importance of well-planned implementation and bridging the gap between IT specialists and healthcare workers to make sure that potential for communication errors is minimised. They also discuss the value of the huge amounts of data AI systems can collect, which in turn make the systems more precise and accurate.
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Content ArticleAntibiotic resistance is a growing issue for medicine globally, so finding alternative medications is a priority for medical research. This study in The BMJ aimed to test and compare the efficacy of methenamine hippurate with the current standard use of daily low dose antibiotics to prevent recurrent urinary tract infections in women. The authors of the study concluded that non-antibiotic prophylactic treatment with methenamine hippurate might be appropriate for women with a history of recurrent episodes of urinary tract infections. The study demonstrated that the treatment had a similar success rate as daily antibiotic prophylaxis.
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Content Article
WHO - Announcing World Patient Safety Day 2022 (4 March 2022)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in WHO
The theme for World Patient Safety Day 2022 is Medication Safety. It will take place on 17 September 2022. Unsafe medication practices and medication errors are a leading cause of avoidable harm in healthcare across the world. Medication errors occur when weak medication systems, and human factors such as fatigue, poor environmental conditions or staff shortages, affect prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administration and monitoring practices. This can result in severe patient harm, disability and even death. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has significantly exacerbated the risk of medication errors and associated medication-related harm. The theme builds on the ongoing WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm. It also provides much-needed impetus to take urgent action for reducing medication-related harm through strengthening systems and practices of medication use. -
Content ArticleIn this article for the Evening Standard, journalist Susannah Butter talks to Caroline Criado Perez about her book, 'Invisible Women, Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men'. Criado Perez discusses inequalities faced by women in healthcare, including delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis and exclusion from medical research. The article also looks at tech solutions being founded by women to fill gaps and address these inequalities.
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In this blog, we take a look at why women have been historically underrepresented in clinical trials and medical research, and the ongoing implications this has on medication safety for women. -
Content ArticleIn this episode of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Podcast, IEA Head of Political Economy Dr Kristian Niemietz discusses the findings of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, and how the healthcare system in England responds to reports about harmful side effects from medicines and medical devices. Kristian speaks with Simon Whale, panel member and communications lead for the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review and Dr Sonia Macleod, lead researcher, Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review. They discuss how the NHS, and other health bodies, could improve their services to address poor care and prevent harm.
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Content ArticleMedications are an important component of health care, but each year their misuse results in over a million adverse drug events that lead to office and emergency room visits as well as hospitalisations and, in some cases, death. As a patient's most tangible source of information about what drug has been prescribed and how that drug is to be taken, the label on a container of prescription medication is a crucial line of defence against such medication safety problems, yet almost half of all patients misunderstand label instructions about how to take their medicines. This book, 'Standardizing Medication Labels: Confusing Patients Less', is the summary of a workshop, held in Washington, D.C. on 12 October 2007. It was organised to examine what is known about how medication container labelling affects patient safety and to discuss approaches to addressing identified problems.
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Content ArticleUnsafe medication practices and medication errors are a leading cause of injury and avoidable harm in health care systems across the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the Third WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm to improve medication safety. Considering the huge burden of medication-related harm, Medication Safety has also been selected as theme for World Patient Safety Day 2022. WHO is launching a series of webinars to introduce the strategic framework for implementation of the Challenge, technical strategies, tools and provide technical support to countries for reducing medication-related harm. The webinars will share country and patient experiences in implementing the Challenge. These presentations from the opening webinar sets out the urgency to address the challenge, the strategic framework and progress to date.
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Content ArticleThis is an Early Day Motion tabled in the House of Commons on 28 February 2022, which calls on the Government to implement the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review in full, including paying compensation to people disabled by Sodium Valproate.
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Content ArticleTo mark Rare Disease Day 2022, the Department of Health and Social Care has published England’s first Rare Diseases Action Plan.
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Content ArticleThis investigation by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) explores the prescription of oral paracetamol in adult inpatients who, on admission to hospital, have low bodyweight (less than 50kg). Paracetamol is a common painkiller often used as first-line management for mild to moderate pain. Although it is safe if taken at the right dose, paracetamol in large amounts is toxic to the liver and therefore the maximum dose must never be exceeded. As its 'reference case', the investigation used the case of Dora, an 83-year-old woman who weighed less than 50kg on admission and lost further weight in hospital. While in hospital, Dora was prescribed oral paracetamol 1g four times a day and towards the end of her admission, she developed multiorgan failure due to sepsis and was diagnosed with paracetamol-induced liver toxicity.
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Content ArticleWhere a new or under-recognised risk identified through the NHS England's review of patient safety events doesn’t meet the criteria for a National Patient Safety Alert, NHS England look to work with partner organisations, who may be better placed to take action to address the issue. To highlight this work and show the importance of recording patient safety events, they publish regular case studies. These case studies show the direct action taken in response to patient safety events recorded by organisations, staff and the public, and how their actions support the NHS to protect patients from harm.
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Content ArticleMedication errors are common at the hospital discharge transition but there’s a lot we can do to improve this. The Royal College of Physicians have developed resource focusing on medication safety at hospital discharge that takes teams through the quality improvement process step-by-step. The project was developed in close consultation with a multidisciplinary task and finish group and with input from across health and social care, including patient and carer representatives. This enabled a better understanding of problems that cross sector boundaries, such as medication safety at the hospital discharge transition, and ensured the problem was approached from multiple perspectives. The guide and accompanying improvement tool templates are available to download below.
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Content ArticleThis report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) looks at medication safety in NHS trusts, focusing on the role of medication safety officers.
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Content ArticleThis report by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has been published as part of a local pilot, which has been launched to evaluate HSIB’s ability to carry out effective investigations occurring between specific hospitals and trusts. After an evaluation, it will be decided whether this model can be implemented more widely by HSIB. This investigation reviewed the case of a woman who was taken to an emergency department by ambulance in April 2021, following a 999 call from her Granddaughter to the emergency operations centre. The emergency operations centre used the wrong NHS number for the patient, which was assigned to her for the duration of her stay in hospital and led to her being offered incorrect medication.
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Content ArticleThis e-book provides an extensive overview of the day-to-day challenges posed by antimicrobial resistance, tools for setting up stewardship programmes and guidance of how to make the most of existing programmes. Its resources apply the principles of antimicrobial stewardship to a wide range of professions, populations and clinical/care settings. It was published by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy in collaboration with the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
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Content ArticleAntibiotic resistance is a natural phenomenon that happens when bacteria develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them. This case study focuses on large outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant strains of cholera and typhoid in Zimbabwe. It describes the steps taken to tackle the outbreaks, including a mass typhoid Vi-conjugate vaccine (TCV) vaccination campaign from February to March 2019 in nine suburbs of Harare that were severely affected by the outbreak.
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WHO: World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2021
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Medication
World Antimicrobial Awareness Week takes place from the 18-24 November every year. On this page the WHO explains what antimicrobial resistance is and provides several short explanatory videos about how this can be prevented. -
Content ArticleThe Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) share their Board meetings and public sessions. Follow the link to see previous Board agenda and Board papers and recordings of the sessions.
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Content ArticleThis best practice guideline for healthcare professionals covers optimum injection technique for people with diabetes taking injectable medications. It is an update to the original Injection Technique Matters guideline published in 2009.
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Content ArticleThis guide for people who inject insulin or GLP-1 to treat diabetes includes information on: how to correctly inject insulin where to inject to ensure insulin and GLP-1 medication enter the body correctly how to avoid ‘Lipos’ how to store medication correctly how to dispose of needles safely.
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Content ArticleThis checklist is for people who inject insulin or GLP-1 medication to treat their diabetes. It details the steps patients should take to ensure they inject their medication correctly and explains the impact of failing to take certain steps - such as moving injection sites and changing needles - on blood glucose control.
