The Institute For Safe Medication Practices has released the "2014-2015 Targeted Medication Safety Best Practices for Hospitals" to reduce medication errors that may cause patient harm.
The best practices are evidence-based, have been reviewed by an outside panel of experts and have been approved by the ISMP Board of Trustees. They include:
1. Dispense vinca alkaloids in a minibag of a compatible solution, rather than in a syringe.
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2. Use a weekly dosage regimen default for oral methotrexate. For daily dispensing, require a hard stop verification of an appropriate oncologic indication. In addition, have pharmacists provide patient education for all weekly oral methotrexate discharge orders.
3. Use only metric units to measure and record patient weights. Ensure scales are set only to metric measurements.
4. Ensure the pharmacy dispenses all oral liquids that are not commercially available in unit doses in oral syringes.
5. Purchase oral liquid dosing devices that only use the metric scale.
6. Eliminate glacial acetic acid from all areas of the hospital.
To access the list, which contains the evidence behind each best practice as well as links to several supplemental articles for entry, visit ISMP's website.
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