Canadian Patient Safety Week, October 28 - November 1, is focusing on medication safety, says Dr. Richard Wedge, CEO of Health PEI.
“Patient safety is Health PEI’s number one priority,” said Dr. Wedge. “Islanders are encouraged to avoid harm by keeping a current list of their medications and sharing it with their health-care providers. As well, health-care providers are encouraged to take time to ensure accuracy in documenting, preparing and administering medications to avoid harm. Medication incidents are one of the leading causes of harm in health care and most of these incidents can be prevented.”
Canadian Patient Safety Week (CPSW) is an annual national event that aims to increase awareness of patient safety issues, share information about best practices, and remind the public that good health care starts with good communication. This year’s message, Ask.Listen.Talk. Medications Can Be Confusing, is a reminder to patients to carry an up-to-date list of all their medications with them to ensure they have the important health information they may need in the event of an emergency.
Patient safety remains at the forefront of Health PEI’s priorities, and medication safety is a key component. Health PEI has developed a tool that can help individuals keep track of their medications called Your Medication List, which is available at www.healthpei.ca/medlist. A number of other initiatives are also under way to improve medication safety, such as:
• Provincial Drugs & Therapeutics Committee established
• Provincial IV Drug Therapy Manual implemented
• Antimicrobial Stewardship Program implemented
• Weekly Safety Huddle Program developed in Queen Elizabeth Hospital Pharmacy
• Medication reconciliation implementation across the health-care system
• 24x7 on-call pharmacy support provided to long-term care facilities
• Medication review in long-term care project initiated
• CPOE (computerized provider order entry) implemented at Prince County Hospital and initiated across all Island hospitals
Canada’s Virtual Forum on Patient Safety and Quality Improvement is also taking place during CPSW. The virtual forum is a great way to learn about the latest on patient safety topics that can benefit individuals, families, care givers and health-care workers. All Islanders are encouraged to take part in CPSW and the Virtual Forum. Further information is available at www.asklistentalk.ca.