Miramichi Regional Hospital celebrates Patient Safety Week
Canadian Patient Safety Week will be celebrated from September 29 to October 4th. Canadian Patient Safety Week celebrates local, regional, and national initiatives to improve patient safety, with events and activities focusing on this year’s theme – “Knowledge is the best medicine. Ask. Talk. Listen.” stressing the prevention of medication errors.
Patient safety is a priority for health care professionals at the Miramichi Regional Hospital. To mark the week an information display about the importance of preventing medication errors is being held in the lobby of the Miramichi Regional Hospital. Information at the display promotes the message “Knowledge is the best medicine. Ask. Talk. Listen.” Throughout the week pharmacy, extra mural program, and quality/patient safety staff will be holding activities throughout the facility promoting the importance of preventing medication errors.
The Miramichi Regional Hospital was recognized as one of three regions in the country in making a significant improvement in medication reconciliation as part of the Safer Health Care Now! program. The primary goal of medication reconciliation is to eliminate medication errors by ensuring that all medications taken by the patient are recorded at all transfer points of care for all patients. Over the last two years, the medication reconciliation team at the hospital developed a process where all admitted patients have their medications reviewed by a pharmacist within the first 24 hours following admission. This is accomplished as a means to reduce the potential for errors stemming from the patient taking different doses than what is listed on the medicine bottles and over the counter vitamins and herbs.
For more information about patient safety or patient safety week, visit the Canadian Patient Safety Institute at www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca or Safer Healthcare Now! at www.saferhealthcarenow.ca
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