News Release

ISMP Awarded Contract to Conduct Perioperative Medication Safety Self Assessment

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to assess medication safety practices in the perioperative setting, from the time a patient is prepared for a procedure until he or she is discharged home. The ISMP Medication Safety Self Assessment® for Perioperative Settings will help healthcare practitioners in hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and other surgical sites evaluate how they are protecting patients from possible perioperative medication errors.

Medication errors happen frequently in all phases of perioperative care, often due to the complexity of the procedures, the fast-paced nature of the setting, and multiple handoffs of care. ISMP’s Medication Safety Self Assessment® for Perioperative Settings will provide facilities with a way to examine their medication safety practices, identify opportunities for improvement, and compare their experiences over time with the aggregate experience of demographically similar organizations.

The new self assessment also will help participants to document compliance with The Joint Commission’s requirement for conducting a proactive risk assessment on a high-volume, high-risk, or problem-prone process, as well as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requirement for developing a data-driven quality assessment and performance improvement program.

ISMP has conducted multiple medication safety self assessments for specific care settings and focus areas, including for hospitals, community/ambulatory pharmacies, high-alert medications, oncology, and antithrombotic therapy. Several national medication safety initiatives have been created based on data from ISMP’s previous self assessments, and other countries have adopted some of the self assessment tools to gather information and develop goals for their own safety efforts.

The perioperative self assessment is slated to be launched in September 2020. As with past assessments, hospitals, ASCs, and other surgical sites will be invited to participate anonymously online via a secure, password protected website. All participants will have unlimited opportunity to access, view, and download their own scores throughout the period of data collection.

For more information, including how to become a participant and/or endorsing organization, send an email to [email protected] or call 215-947-7797.

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