Description

On-Demand: Medication Errors Update

EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

The percentage of Americans consuming medications have increased over the years. Seventy percent of individuals in the U.S. take at least one medication per day, and more than half of all Americans take two. There is at least one death in the U.S. daily as a result of a medication error, and approximately1.3 million people annually are injured due to medication errors. Each year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) receives more than 100,000 reports of medication errors. Medication errors occur in many settings, including pharmacies, hospitals, and patient homes. According to the Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives, more than seven million Americans have been impacted by medication errors on an annual basis.

As a part of the biennial renewal, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are required to complete a two (2) hour Florida Board of Pharmacy approved course on Medication Errors. The course must contain the following components: (a) root-cause analysis; (b) error reduction and prevention; (c) patient safety. The two-hour program may be applied towards the thirty-hour continuing education requirement for pharmacists and the twenty-hour continuing education requirement for technicians. (64B16-26.103)

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

At the completion of this activity, pharmacists will be able to: Recognize statutory responsibilities that foster ongoing pharmacy regulatory compliance; Recognize recurring medication errors; Describe quality improvement regulations for pharmacies licensed in Florida; Define elements of a proactive Continuous Quality Improvement process that promotes ongoing quality; Discuss the use of Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to enhance quality pharmacy services and prevent errors; Describe the implementation of an action plan to improve overall pharmacy practice quality and mitigate medication errors; Demonstrate enactment of procedures that promote ongoing patient safety in pharmacy practice.

At the completion of this activity, technicians will be able to: Recognize statutory responsibilities that foster ongoing pharmacy regulatory compliance; Recognize recurring medication errors; Describe quality improvement regulations for pharmacies licensed in Florida; Define elements of a proactive Continuous Quality Improvement process that promotes ongoing quality; Discuss the use of Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to enhance quality pharmacy services and prevent errors; Describe the implementation of an action plan to improve overall pharmacy practice quality and mitigate medication errors; Outline procedures that promote ongoing patient safety in pharmacy practice.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This home study activity is targeted to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

UAN: 0675-0000-24-020-H05-P/T