Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)

ISMP President Rita Jew?delivered the closing keynote at the Pacific Coast Patient Safety Conference 2025 this month, focusing on mitigating safety gaps when administering medications with smart infusion pumps. We were impressed by the spirit of collaboration and communication among attendees to facilitate change in health systems! To access ISMP’s smart pump guidelines, visit: https://hubs.la/Q03dlGDm0 #medicationsafety #medsafety #patientsafety #medicationerrors #hospitals #infusiontherapy #IVpumps #CSHPSeminar25

A recent ISMP newsletter article takes a deeper dive into how to address active failures and accountability using just culture principles. The article is part two in a series focused on a fatal error in a long-term care facility, and contains an interview with the Just Culture Company?about how the tenets of just culture would apply in that case and how healthcare organizations can use them to create more psychological safety and trust with staff as well as encourage identification of system-based issues that lead to preventable harm: https://hubs.la/Q03dl2bQ0 #medicationsafety #medsafety #patientsafety #medicationerrors #hospitals #pharmacist #nurses #justculture

Want to learn more about converting to NRFit neuraxial connectors to prevent potentially fatal tubing misconnections? ISMP’s Shannon B. one of the featured speakers for a webinar hosted by #GEDSA and the first U.S. clinicians to adopt NRFit. The webinar provided an overview of the conversion process, patient impact stories, and tips for successful implementation. To watch: https://lnkd.in/eiuS_zCS #medicationsafety #medsafety #patientsafety #medicationerrors #hospitals #pharmacist #nurses #NRFit ECRI

NEW: Applications are now being accepted for the first Ochsner Children’s & ISMP Safe Medication Management Fellowship! This unique one-year program for pharmacists offers the opportunity to learn from and work with top experts in medication safety while supporting error prevention strategies in pediatrics at Ochsner Health. The fellowship begins in the summer of 2025 and requires working on site at Ochsner Health in New Orleans and remotely with ISMP. For more information and to apply: https://hubs.la/Q03cvSHs0 #medicationsafety #medsafety #patientsafety #medicationerrors #hospitals #pharmacist #Ochsnerkids ECRI Ochsner Health

Stay compliant with the latest USP updates! Join ASHP’s expert-led webinars on April 8 and April 22, 2025, to learn key strategies for training personnel, implementing a quality plan, adopting technology, and highlighting the role of a designated person . Ensure your team is equipped to meet new standards for sterile compounding. Register for April 8: https://hubs.la/Q03ckThY0 Register for April 22: https://hubs.la/Q03clm7w0 CEUs available for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians! #sterilecompounding #healthcarecompliance #pharmacy #medicationsafety #medsafety #patientsafety #medicationerrors #hospitals #pharmacytechnician #pharmacytech #communitypharmacy #retailpharmacy

From the President of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), Rita Jew: I’m passionate about medication safety because I’ve seen firsthand how even good intentions can lead to harm for patients. At ISMP, we see reports of medication errors caused by similar drug names, risky workarounds, and mix-ups with high-alert medications, to name a few. Medication errors are common causes of preventable harm in healthcare, often due to system failures and human fallibility. Our mission at ISMP is to empower healthcare teams with the tools to prevent errors and create a workforce culture where speaking up saves lives. Let’s stand together to prioritize medication safety every day. #MedicationSafety #PatientSafety #TotalSystemSafety #HealthcareCulture

It’s National Patient Safety Awareness Week, and we are speaking out against criminalization of medication errors! An ISMP newsletter article reported on a recent case where a nurse was criminally indicted after a fatal medication mix-up in a long-term care facility and provided recommendations for evaluating systems and implementing technologies and workflows to minimize errors. ISMP urges all healthcare organizations to learn from this tragic event and take action to improve systems rather than placing blame on the individual(s) involved. For a copy of the article: https://hubs.ly/Q03byd3b0 #medicationsafety #medsafety #patientsafety #medicationerrors #hospitals #pharmacist #nurses ECRI

ECRI’s list of Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns this year includes deteriorating community pharmacy working conditions contributing to medication errors and compromising patient and staff safety. For a copy of the full report, see link below.

Applying Best Practices for Injection Safety: A “How To” Roadmap Join us at the Saratoga Springs Hilton and City Center on April 5, 2025, for an essential lunch symposium dedicated to improving injection safety practices in healthcare. This session will focus on addressing the vulnerabilities in the preparation and administration of IV medications and introduce innovative solutions for reducing patient harm and medication errors. Key topics will include: ? The comparison of Ready-to-Administer (RTA) products vs. traditional methods ? Enhancing the safety of bedside injection procedures ? Practical strategies for better patient outcomes Take part in a discussion that could transform your approach to injection safety. Date: April 5, 2025 Time: 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Location: Saratoga Springs Hilton and City Center, New York Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q038Gf_90 #InjectionSafety #PatientCare #HealthcareEvents #BestPractices #PatientSafety #IVMedications #HealthTech #MedicalInnovation #HealthcareProfessionals

ISMP has released the 2025-2026 Targeted Medication Safety Best Practices for Community Pharmacy! Three new practices have been added this year that focus on weight-based dosing, return-to-stock process, and vaccine preparation and administration. Please help us encourage adoption and spread the word about this unique resource, which includes a worksheet to assist with implementation: https://hubs.la/Q038-K_X0 #medicationsafety #medsafety #patientsafety #medicationerrors #hospitals #pharmacytechnician #pharmacytech #communitypharmacy #retailpharmacy