How to handle controlled drugs in hospitals using automation and digital systems A review of the existing legislation and guidance on controlled drugs, compiled to offer a way forward as legislation continues to develop.… Sponsored feature
Electronic prescribing systems should consider patients’ weight for supply of oral paracetamol, concludes report The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch issued the recommendation after a coroner concluded that a patient was prescribed a dose of oral paracetamol that was too high, which contributed to her death.…
More than 15,000 falsified medicines found in UK supply chain over past two years Exclusive: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has identified 15,000 falsified medicine packs since the UK left the European Union in January 2020.…
Government advisory body on controlled drugs reviewing safety of liquid morphine Exclusive: Following the receipt of two regulation 28 notices, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs' technical committee is reviewing information on serious patient safety incidents involving morphine oral solutions.…
How ‘proxy access’ in care homes saves time and reduces medication waste After implementing a proxy system in care homes, Mira Makhecha found that it reduced both medication errors and waste, and improved medicine delivery times and the accuracy of patient records.…
Rising to the challenge: communicating medicines-related information across a large and diverse health boardThe rate of prescribing errors in primary care is at least 11%, and 1 in 10 patients may experience a medication error while in hospital; it is crucial that medicines governance processes are in place to support the safe use of medicines. Communication is an essential element of medicines governance…
Patients must be warned not to swallow betamethasone soluble tabletsThe views expressed in this letter are those of the author’s. If you would like to submit a letter to The Pharmaceutical Journal, please click here. The use of betamethasone 500 microgram soluble tablets as a mouthwash is referenced in national guidance sources as a treatment for ora…
Access to pharmacists at all times would reduce medication errors in hospital, concludes review The review also said that wider implementation of electronic prescribing systems and an integrated electronic health record could help reduce errors.…
LloydsPharmacy reduces amlodipine and amitriptyline dispensing errors by 77% The multiple's Safer Care patient safety programme, aimed to eliminate look-alike, sound-alike dispensing errors, achieved a significant reduction in mistakes in 2020.…
How to advise women on the safe use of medicines while breastfeeding Pharmacists should understand the pharmacokinetic principles influencing a drug’s passage through breast milk to confidently promote breastfeeding as an important public health measure.…
