Institute For Safe Medication Practices

THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION IS TO ADVANCE PATIENT SAFETY WORLDWIDE BY EMPOWERING THE HEALTHCARE COMMUNITY TO PREVENT MEDICATION ERRORS.

PUBLICATIONS AND EDUCATION:EDUCATION: ISMP CONSIDERS EDUCATION TO BE A CORE COMPONENT OF ITS MISSION, AND OFFERS A VARIETY OF VALUABLE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS AND CONSUMERS, INCLUDING FREQUENT WEBINARS, CONTINUING EDUCATION SESSIONS AT SOME OF THE NATION'S LARGEST PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS, WORKSHOPS, LECTURES, VIDEOS, AND PATIENT BROCHURES. A WIDE RANGE OF FREE TOOLS FOR HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS, SUCH AS LISTS OF HIGH-ALERT DRUGS AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS ABBREVIATIONS, ARE AVAILABLE ON WWW.ISMP.ORG. IN ADDITION, ISMP HOSTS MEDICATION SAFETY FELLOWSHIPS AND ONSITE MENTORING PROGRAMS FOR MEDICATION SAFETY OFFICERS AND INTERNATIONAL HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS. ISMP'S CONSUMER WEBSITE, WWW.CONSUMERMEDSAFETY.ORG, PROVIDES INDIVIDUALS WITH ADVICE FROM LEADING SAFETY EXPERTS AND INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES ON SAFE MEDICATION USE.PUBLICATIONS: ISMP PRODUCES FIVE ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTERS THAT COLLECTIVELY REACH MILLIONS OF READERS AND ARE RECOGNIZED AS SOME OF THE MOST TIMELY, COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL ALERT SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD. THE BIWEEKLY ISMP MEDICATION SAFETY ALERT! ACUTE CARE EDITION PROVIDES VIRTUALLY EVERY US HOSPITAL WITH VITAL AND LIFE-SAVING INFORMATION ABOUT MEDICATION AND DEVICE ERRORS AND ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS. THE MONTHLY COMMUNITY/AMBULATORY CARE EDITION AND NURSE ADVISE-ERR NEWSLETTERS GIVE PHARMACISTS, PHARMACY TECHNICIANS, NURSES, PHYSICIANS, AND OTHER HEALTH PROFESSIONALS RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY CAN USE IN THEIR OWN PRACTICE SETTINGS. THE BIMONTHLY ISMP MEDICATION SAFETY ALERT! LONG-TERM CARE ADVISE-ERR PROVIDES TIMELY MEDICATION SAFETY INFORMATION TO STAFF WORKING WITH RESIDENT POPULATIONS THAT ARE OFTEN ELDERLY, FRAIL, DEPENDENT, COMPLEX IN NATURE, AND FRAUGHT WITH MANY DIFFERENT ILLNESSES AND DYSFUNCTIONS. SAFE MEDICINE, ALSO PUBLISHED EVERY OTHER MONTH, IS THE ONLY CONSUMER HEALTH NEWSLETTER FOCUSING SPECIFICALLY ON ERROR PREVENTION. ISMP ALSO PUBLISHES EDUCATIONAL COLUMNS IN SEVERAL HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL JOURNALS AND PUBLICATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE BOOKS ON SAFE MEDICATION USE FOR HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS.MEMBERSHIPS: ISMP OFFERS A MEDICATION SAFETY MEMBERSHIP AND A SPECIALTY PHARMACY MEDICATION SAFETY MEMBERSHIP THAT AIM TO HELP REDUCE THE OCCURRENCE OF MEDICATION ERRORS WITH EVIDENCE-BASED BEST PRACTICES. THE MEMBERSHIP PROVIDES ACTIONABLE GUIDANCE AND PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS INVOLVED IN MANAGING RISK THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MEDICATION-USE PROCESS.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS:CONSULTS: EACH YEAR, ISMP PROVIDES CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTING SERVICES TO HEALTHCARE FACILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN A WIDE RANGE OF PRACTICE SETTINGS, INCLUDING HOSPITALS AND COMMUNITY PHARMACIES, TO HELP THEM IMPROVE MEDICATION SAFETY. ONSITE HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SYSTEM RISK ASSESSMENTS BY A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF PRACTITIONERS RESULT IN SAFE PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MEDICATION ERROR PREVENTION AND FOLLOW-UP IMPLEMENTATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES. IN ADDITION, ISMP CONSULTANTS PROVIDE SIMILAR ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT TO OUTPATIENT PHARMACIES NATIONWIDE. UNLIKE OTHER CONSULTANTS, ISMP CONSTANTLY UPDATES ITS EVIDENCED-BASED PREVENTION STRATEGIES WITH REAL-TIME INFORMATION GAINED FROM ONGOING ANALYSIS OF THOUSANDS OF REPORTS SUBMITTED TO ITS NATIONAL VOLUNTARY ERROR REPORTING PROGRAMS.ERROR REPORTING AND ANALYSIS: THE VOLUNTARY ISMP NATIONAL MEDICATION ERRORS REPORTING PROGRAM (ISMP MERP) WAS STARTED IN ORDER TO LEARN ABOUT ERRORS HAPPENING ACROSS THE NATION, UNDERSTAND CAUSES, AND SHARE "LESSONS LEARNED" WITH THE HEALTHCARE COMMUNITY. EACH YEAR, THE PROGRAM RECEIVES A FEW THOUSAND REPORTS FROM HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS, AND THAT INFORMATION IS USED TO BRING ABOUT LARGE-SCALE CHANGES IN MEDICATION SAFETY. NATIONAL ALERT NETWORK (NAN) ALERTS BASED ON INFORMATION SUBMITTED TO THE PROGRAM WARN PROVIDERS OF RISK FOR ERRORS THAT HAVE CAUSED SERIOUS HARM OR DEATH. ISMP ALSO ESTABLISHED THE FIRST CONSUMER ERROR REPORTING SYSTEM THROUGH ITS CONSUMER WEBSITE (WWW.CONSUMERMEDSAFETY.ORG) AS WELL AS A NATIONAL VACCINE ERRORS REPORTING PROGRAM (ISMP VERP). RESEARCH AND BEST PRACTICES DEVELOPMENT: IN ADDITION TO DISSEMINATING INFORMATION ON SAFE MEDICATION USE GAINED THROUGH ITS REPORTING PROGRAMS AND OTHER SOURCES, ISMP CONDUCTS ORIGINAL RESEARCH TO HELP PROVIDE EVIDENCE-BASED SOLUTIONS AND DEVELOPS GUIDANCE AND PREVENTION STRATEGIES TO PREVENT ERRORS. ISMP MOST RECENTLY ISSUED THE 2022-2023 TARGETED MEDICATION SAFETY BEST PRACTICES FOR HOSPITALS TO IDENTIFY, INSPIRE, AND MOBILIZE NATIONAL ACTION ON RECURRING SAFETY PROBLEMS. ISMP ALSO HAS CONDUCTED NATIONAL MEDICATION SAFETY SELF-ASSESSMENTS FOR ACUTE CARE HOSPITALS IN 2000, 2004, AND 2011, A SELF-ASSESSMENT FOR HIGH-ALERT MEDICATIONS IN 2018 AND A SELF-ASSESSMENT FOR PERIOPERATIVE MEDICATION SAFETY IN 2021. TOPICS THAT OTHER ISMP SELF-ASSESSMENTS HAVE ADDRESSED INCLUDE ONCOLOGY, COMMUNITY/AMBULATORY PHARMACY, AND ANTITHROMBOTIC THERAPY.