Drug management issues
February 27, 2012
AUSTRALIA needs medication
management systems that are
evaluated and improved with
greater emphasis on error
reduction, storage reconciliation
and pharmacy involvement,
according to a new report.
Penned by the Australian Council
on Healthcare Standards, the
report was based on the
accreditation performance of 509
healthcare organisations, through
the EQuIP 4 Program, in 2009 and
2010, and covers a variety of public
and private hospitals as well as
stand-alone day facilities, with and
without on-site pharmacy services.
According to the report’s findings,
of the 509 healthcare organisations
assessed only seven were classified
in the Outstanding Achievement
category for Medication Safety.
Healthcare organisations that
performed well, according to the
report, had “medication
management programs that sought
and found methods to reduce
medication errors, increased
pharmacy involvement, maintained
consistent, frequent medication
reconciliations and offered welldesigned
consumer/patient
education”.
Interestingly the majority of
healthcare organisations (83%)
were assessed in the Moderate
Achievement category.
Speaking in the wake of the
results, The Society of Hospital
Pharmacists of Australia advocated
the use of a medication safety as a
mandatory indicator, saying it will
raise awareness “about the need
for a systematic, organisation-wide
and evidence-based approach to
medication safety”.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 27 Feb 12To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 27 Feb 12
