Handling of medication errors in pharmacies a concern for The PSI – Pharmapod can help.
A recent article by The Times claims that a quarter of all prescription medicines sold by pharmacies are dispensed in breach of legislation.
The Times article states that the PSI, the Pharmacy Regulator in Ireland is particularly concerned at the way in which medication errors are being handled at pharmacies ‘A third of all pharmacies failed to keep log of errors – a problem that has been repeatedly highlighted in disciplinary proceedings’.
Why are some pharmacies falling short of this requirement and risking disciplinary hearings for non-compliance? Pharmacies are busy places and keeping on top of requirements can be a challenge. We would like to reassure pharmacists that putting an effective recording and reporting system in place is a simple task and takes less than half an hour to get yourself and your team up and running, reporting and reviewing your data. Developing a culture of reporting is an on-going process, but putting a system in place, using it and encouraging your dispensary team to use it is half the battle – in this way you are leading your team by example and demonstrating that logging an error is a positive task and not something to be wary of. After all the good work pharmacies do for their patients, it is important for pharmacists to avoid putting themselves and their teams at risk of a disciplinary proceedings for non-compliance.
If you feel you have not yet got an effective system in place and you would like some help for yourself and your team, the Pharmapod team are here to help you. It is worth putting aside a few moments to this and give yourself that on-going peace of mind.
By implementing the Pharmapod system in your pharmacy, you will create a positive culture of continuous improvement. You will have a system to identify trends and to plan actions to prevent errors and to share the learnings with your pharmacy team. By using Pharmapod, you can easily demonstrate your continuous improvement, your focus on standards and patient safety and your compliance to increasing regulations. Pharmapod is the leading cloud-based software for driving efficiencies and standards and reducing medication errors in community pharmacies. It also makes financial sense to implement the system – by transferring your quality and compliance processes from traditional methods to Pharmapod’s digital service, operational efficiencies are realised and costs are reduced resulting in a service which supports a very positive return on investment.
Implementation of the Pharmapod system is quick and simple as Pharmapod services are accessed online through a standard web browser on all laptops, mobile phones or tablets so pharmacists can track and manage their teams’ activity and progress from wherever is convenient.
Contact us today and we will get you started. Click here to book a demo of the award winning system or email [email protected] or call (01) 685 2242 for more information.