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When it comes to administering drugs, there's a lot that can go wrong: Wrong drug. Wrong dose. Wrong patient. Wrong time. Wrong route of administration. Each year, these types of medication errors harm an estimated 1.5 million patients in the United States, including 400,000 in hospitals and 800,000 in long-term care settings.1
Fortunately, there's no shortage of resources to help you avoid medication errors. Drug manufacturers, the FDA, the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), and the Institute for Safe Medicine Practices (ISMP) are all working to combat medication errors, typically by collecting and analyzing data on how and why they occur, and suggesting steps clinicians and organizations can take to prevent them.
For its part, JCAHO addresses drug errors with several of its National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs). All JCAHO-accredited hospitals and other facilities are required to meet the NPSGs, which are updated each year by a group of experts in patient safety, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy. Last month, we covered the 2007 NPSGs for improved communication. Here, we'll take a look at JCAHO's goals for improving drug safety and what you need to do to help your institution meet them.
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