Each year, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) celebrates individuals, organizations, nonprofit associations, companies and agencies that have, through their actions during the previous 12 months, set a superlative standard of excellence for others to follow in the prevention of medication errors and other adverse events.

ISMP accepts outside nominations for the Cheers Awards, including self-nominations. The prestigious awards spotlight efforts from all healthcare disciplines, including nursing, medicine, and pharmacy, and winners have represented all practice areas, including acute, long-term, home care, and community pharmacy settings.

From the prescription container label redesigns to the development of a process of integrating patient champions into safety rounds, the Cheers Awards have focused on best practices a

d programs that help save lives and improve quality of care. Awardees have gained national and international attention, bringing their innovations to the attention of those who can use and build upon them.

Other Award Categories
In addition to the Cheers Awards, ISMP also bestows two other honors each year for outstanding contributions to medication safety:

ISMP Lifetime Achievement Award
The ISMP Lifetime Achievement Award honors an individual who has had a significant career history of making ongoing contributions to patient safety and has had a major impact on safe medication practices. It is given in memory of ISMP Trustee David P. Vogel, RPh, who worked tirelessly to help promote safe medication practices, including acting as a member of the consultant team for health system site surveys.

ISMP Medication Safety Alert!® Subscriber Award
The ISMP Medication Safety Alert!® Subscriber Award is presented to a healthcare organization that demonstrates widespread distribution of the ISMP Medication Safety Alert!® and/or other ISMP newsletters to educate staff; use of the ISMP Medication Safety Alert!® and/or other ISMP newsletters by a multidisciplinary committee to plan proactive error reduction strategies; and successful implementation of proactive error reduction strategies based on recommendations made in the ISMP Medication Safety Alert!® and/or other ISMP newsletters.

Cheers Awards Selection Process
The Nomination and Award Subcommittee of the ISMP Board of Trustees reviews all nomination materials submitted and scores each nominee using a standard process. The committee then recommends potential honorees to the full ISMP Board of Trustees, which grants final approval of all award winners.

Cheers Awards Ceremony
The ISMP Cheers Awards are presented during a evening ceremony in early December of each year. ISMP will provide a travel stipend for a representative of each award recipient to attend the award reception and dinner.