A Safety Brief in the June 28, 2018, ISMP Medication Safety Alert! noted a change in concentration for rabies immune globulin (human) ( HYPERRAB ) manufactured by Grifols. Since a higher concentration allows for more efficient wound infiltration (i.e., more of the immune globulin can be delivered to...
Resource Library
Whether you have experienced a medication error in your organization or you are proactively implementing prevention strategies, you are not alone. Thousands of organizations worldwide have relied on ISMP's resources for institutional change to reduce errors on a daily basis. These resources are developed from ISMP's review of reports through its national error reporting programs, peer-reviewed articles in its publications, and/or consensus gathering summits on topics pertinent to specific errors or hazards. ISMP offers a wide range of downloadable and easy to use resources. Many are free.
All Resources
Methotrexate is a folic acid antagonist that was originally approved to treat a variety of cancers. Used for oncologic indications, methotrexate is administered in cyclical frequencies and in variable doses based on body surface area and the type of cancer being treated—for example, 12 g/m 2 per...
This tool draws on ISMP’s years of experience in medication safety to provide detailed information for hospital leadership on the value a Medication Safety Officer can provide.
Students Have a Key Role in a Culture of Safety: Analysis of Student-Associated Medication Incidents
Undergraduate and postgraduate students in healthcare fields are attempting to develop the skills required to deliver safe and effective patient care as future practitioners. As part of their training, most students are exposed to a variety of practice environments and direct patient care...
Public Comment on Revised Guidelines has Closed ISMP’s Guidelines for the Safe Use of Automated Dispensing Cabinets (ADCs) were originally published in 2009 to encourage adoption of standard practices and processes as well as improved ADC design and functionality. These Guidelines have now been...
Between November 2017 and March 2018, ISMP conducted three surveys to learn about current practices with smart infusion pumps that have dose error-reduction software (DERS). Smart pumps can vastly improve medication safety by providing customizable libraries with dose limits and administration rates...
ISMP has repeatedly cautioned about abbreviating drug names due to the risk of misinterpretation. One recurring problem has been with tPA, an abbreviation often used for alteplase (ACTIVASE), the first tissue plasminogen activator approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This...
Vaccination ranks high among the greatest public health achievements of the twentieth century. However, analysis of 575 vaccine errors submitted to the ISMP National Vaccine Errors Reporting Program (ISMP VERP) in 2017, which appeared in our June 14, 2018 newsletter ( Part I ), suggests that vaccine...
Vaccine errors threaten to undermine the protection immunizations provide and often leave patients inadequately protected against serious diseases