From the August 2006 issue

ISMP has received several phones calls from community pharmacists regarding the question “Are you an Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) pharmacy?” on applications for some Pharmacy Benefit Networks. The most recent network asking this question is the Humana Pharmacy Network. In reality, we are not a membership organization but instead an independent, non-profit agency. While we do encourage community, mail service, and other pharmacies to follow our safe medication practice recommendations, including participation in the ISMP Medication Safety Self Assessment® for Community/Ambulatory Pharmacy (www.ismp.org/Survey/NewMssacap/index.asp) we do not have members. We have contacted Humana and their representative indicated that the question actually relates to whether or not you have participated in our Self Assessment. We appreciate the encouragement that these companies have expressed for this important safety project.