This new video, created for the Regional Medication Safety Program for Hospitals (RMSPH), focuses on how hospitals can build safeguards in their medication systems (i.e., ordering, storage, preparation, dispensing, and administration practices) to prevent medication errors with high-alert drugs. When high-alert drugs (those that possess a narrow margin of safety) are involved in an error, they often result in serious harm or possibly even death to the patient. Fortunately, high-alert drugs can be targeted for specific interventions to reduce errors.

Created as an educational tool for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, patient safety officers, risk managers, and hospital executives, Building System Safeguards for the Safe Use of High-Alert Medications addresses seven key strategies to build system safeguards. The 23-minute video highlights three scenarios depicting events that contribute to errors with high-alert medications. All scenarios are adapted from actual medication error reports. As each scenario unfolds, the viewer gains a clearer understanding of how a variety of interrelated factors contribute to medication errors.

Hospitals are encouraged to evaluate their ordering, storage, preparation, dispensing, and administration practices for high-alert drugs and consider how the seven key strategies demonstrated in this video can be used to build system safeguards to prevent medication errors.

This video was created and produced for the RMSPH, an innovative program launched by the Health Care Improvement Foundation, an affiliate of the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council (DVHC), along with ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP).

23 minutes

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For more information on this video or other medication safety or patient safety publications and services, please contact HCIF by telephone at (215) 735-3895, or by e-mail at jmorris@dvhc.org