What's New

USP–ISMP Medication Safety Workshops

Featured in the current issue of CAPSLink
Compounded Drug Preparation Errors in Hospitals  (156KB)

Practitioner Programs and Services

USP's patient safety initiatives are further supported through the development of educational programs, products, and services that are designed for healthcare practitioners. The ultimate goal of these programs is to help practitioners improve the safe use of medications. With this goal in mind, USP strives to create a portfolio of unique, unbiased, and professional resources that are available through a variety of venues including freestanding conferences and workshops, audio conferences, Webinars, and on-line newsletters, programs, and products. Continuing education credits are awarded for some practitioner program offerings. For details on specific resources, visit the links provided below.


Patient Safety Newsletters

CAPSLink

An e-newsletter that provides timely information on medication error issues based on data findings from USP's two medication-error reporting programs: MEDMARX® and the Medication Errors Reporting (MER) Program. Each month focuses on a particular medication safety issue (e.g., computer entry errors) along with a concise list of news bulletins with brief summaries and associated hyperlinks for additional information on selected patient safety topics. CAPSLink also provides readers with recommendations and guidelines from USP's Safe Medication Use Expert Committee, the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, Joint Commission, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Institute of Medicine, and FDA.

USP Quality Review

Provides information, analysis, and recommendations on medication safety issues based on medication error reports received by USP through MEDMARX and the Medication Errors Reporting Program.

Practitioner's Reporting News

This electronic news venue provides very concise, specific summaries on medication safety issues. The summaries are generated from medication error reports received by USP.

Presentations/Seminars

USP staff travel throughout the United States and internationally to educate practitioners about medication safety and adverse drug event prevention. Sponsoring organizations have included professional societies, hospitals, risk management companies, and medical, nursing and pharmacy schools. A sampling of the various topics on which USP experts are available to speak about include:

  • Medication error detection and reporting
  • Joint Commission's Medication Management Standards and National Patient Safety Goals
  • Medication errors in radiology
  • Medication errors in intensive care units (ICUs)
  • Medication errors in the emergency department (ED)
  • Medication errors in the perioperative setting
  • Computer entry and computerized prescriber order entry errors
  • Patient-controlled analgesia
  • Bedside bar-coding technology
  • Measuring medication safety
  • Preventing errors with look-alike and sound-alike drug names
  • Preventing errors with high-risk patient populations (geriatric, pediatric, oncology, or HIV-AIDS)

To receive more information or to arrange for a presentation at your organization, meeting, or healthcare setting, send a message to

Conferences/Workshops

The combination of USP's medication-error databases, standards-setting activities, and a membership representing a broad array of healthcare stakeholders, places USP in a unique position to develop quality educational conferences and workshops (alone or in partnership with others) that can help improve the safety and quality of medication use. Collaborating with USP to present an educational symposium at a healthcare meeting or convention, allows organizations to reach highly select audiences. Topics for upcoming conferences and workshops continually evolve.

Webinars

USP Webinars are a convenient way for healthcare professionals to keep abreast of current and new issues related to medication safety, understand USP practitioner-related standards (e.g., Chapter <797>), and learn various strategies and recommendations that, when implemented, can help improve the quality of patient care. Webinars offer practitioners quality educational programming without spending extra time away from work or incurring expenses for travel and lodging. In addition, each organization pays one fee for registration that covers unlimited participation from individuals at their site.

USP Webinars focus on practical issues that healthcare professionals find themselves addressing every day in practice, such as medication reconciliation, compounding of sterile pharmaceutical preparations, computer order entry, and compliance with the Joint Commission's Medication Management Standards.

Tools and Resources

Journal Articles, Columns, Surveys

Patient Safety Presentations