The Alliance For Patient Medication Safety Submits Landmark Filing To Be A Patient Safety Organization, USA

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 19 Aug 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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The Alliance for Patient Medication Safety will file a certification to be a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) . The Alliance for Medication Safety will serve as the premier national patient-centric medication safety evaluation system in the country. The mission of the Alliance for Patient Medication Safety is to foster a culture of quality within the profession of pharmacy that promotes a continuous systems analysis to develop best practices that will reduce medication errors, improve medication use and enhance patient care.

"Patients should seek medication related services from pharmacists that participate in the system that aim to be the safest in the nation," said Rebecca Snead, CEO of the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), is the founding sponsor of the Alliance. "The Alliance's priority will be to assist pharmacists in assuring optimal medication therapy outcomes throughout the nation."

PSO's are private entities recognized by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect and analyze patient safety events reported by pharmacists and other healthcare providers. Through analysis of collected data, the Alliance will offer the public and healthcare providers recommendations for prevention of medication errors to improve patient safety. In addition, the Alliance will provide new recommendations on best practices and workflow processes to help reduce medication errors, improve medication use and enhance patient care. A culture of safety will evolve to assure optimal medication therapy outcomes in part through a non-punitive reporting environment. Quality-related events will be reported, aggregated and analyzed.

NASPA is pursuing this opportunity because state pharmacy association's interest in patient safety has heightened in recent years. NASPA-Center for Quality Initiatives, LLC has made Pharmacy Quality Commitment® (PQC) available for license to pharmacists and pharmacies through state pharmacy associations for over three years. PQC is a continuous quality improvement and risk management program for pharmacies to report unidentified quality-related events. Currently over 2,000 pharmacies in 47 states are licensed to use the PQC program. In the last six months of 2007 over 40,000 quality-related events were recorded on more than 6 million prescriptions. State pharmacy associations view the opportunity for pharmacists to participate in PSO activities an essential tool in pharmacists assuring optimal medication therapy outcomes.

Aided by McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP, an international law firm with expertise in healthcare, government affairs, government contracts and other areas of law and public policy, the Alliance for Patient Medication Safety filed under the statutory provisions of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. In February of this year, HHS issued proposed rules concerning aspects of the Patient Safety Act, including the process for listing the PSO. Final rules are expected by the end of the year.

"Pharmacists who participate in the Alliance's PSO will be leaders in the practice of pharmacy and in patient safety," said Peggy Binzer, attorney with McKenna Long & Aldridge who made the filing on the Alliance's behalf. "It is critical to enhance patient medication safety that the Secretary list them in a timely fashion."

NASPA promotes leadership, sharing, learning, and policy exchange among pharmacy leaders nationwide, and provides education and advocacy to support pharmacists, patients, and communities working together to improve public health. NASPA was founded in 1927 as the National Council of State Pharmacy Association Executives (NCSPAE).

NASPA