Medication safety

Potential risk of confusion when taking anticoagulants

With increasing use of oral anticoagulants in primary and secondary care, we are becoming more aware of the risks of patient harm due to “over-anticoagulation”, and the need for correct drug and dosing and patient monitoring. These risks are well understood when patients take vitamin K a…

Supporting pharmacist prescribers in the UK

Pharmacist prescribers in the North East of England were asked to explain what they used their qualification for and what problems they face. David Gibson describes what the survey showed.…

EMA proposes disclaimer to address pharmacovigilance and liability conflict

The European Medicines Agency has launched a consultation on proposals to improve the prevention, reporting and evaluation of medication errors.…

Call for European infrastructure to improve patient safety

Hospital pharmacists should play a central role in increasing the governance of medicines and in reporting and learning from incidents, according to David Cousins, an expert in medication safety.…

Pharmacists cannot fear the law

Roger King wrote to say that law reform, including decriminalising dispensing errors, will not change the way pharmacists work ( The Pharmaceutical Journal 2015;294:278). I share his view. Only a fraction of harm from dispensing medicines actually arises from negligence. Most injur…

Medicine errors can be avoided with clearer IV bag labels, research suggests

Redesigning the labels of intravenous medicine bags can “significantly” reduce the risk of administering the wrong drugs during an operating theatre emergency.…

GP and pharmacy leaders call for pharmacists to work within general practice

A pharmacist should work in every GP practice in England to offer specialist medicines advice and support to patients and take pressure off family doctors.…

MPs publish pharmacy wish list for next UK government

MPs from the All-Party Pharmacy Group have written a wish list of what they want the next UK government to achieve within its first 100 days.…

Proposals to ‘decriminalise’ dispensing errors may not prevent prosecution for inadvertent mistakes

New proposals seek to end the threat of prosecution for inadvertent dispensing errors but there are concerns that pharmacists will not be fully protected when they make an honest mistake.…

How do you feel after you’ve made an error?

Healthcare professionals can feel traumatised when they make an error. Patsy Edwards describes research she conducted into the emotional impact of errors on practitioners and the support they subsequently received.…