INTRODUCTION Medication related adverse events are common, particularly during transitions of care, and have a significant impact on patient outcomes and healthcare costs. Medication reconciliation (MedRec) is an important initiative to achieve the Quality Use of Medicines, and has been adopted as a standard practice in many developed countries. However, the impact of this strategy is rarely de...

We compared the efficacy and safety of a biosimilar form of beta-interferon-1a (Actovex) versus the reference product in the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In a double blind, randomized phase 3 clinical trial, we evaluated 138 patients with RRMS that were allocated to receive the biosimilar medication and the reference treatment (30 μg intramuscular, weekly for one ...

Medication errors, drug related problems and patient safety Patient safety is arguably the most important issue facing pharmacy practice today. In this issue of the Translator the prevalence and incidence of drug related morbidities is examined, and possible solutions and the impact of medication reconciliation are discussed. ■ Seventy percent of hospitalizations for drug-related causes are dee...

Over the past decade, medication safety has gained emphasis as a major health issue via numerous high-profile safety events (Kilbridge 2002). It is estimated that adverse drug events (ADE) occur in 6.5% to more than 20% of hospitalized patients (Bates 1995, Classen 1991, Rozich 2003). Although many of these are avoidable, there is disagreement among researchers regarding which types of issues h...

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada (ISMP Canada) is an independent, not-for-profit organization founded in early 2000 with the goal of promoting medication safety. It operates a voluntary medication error-reporting program that receives error reports, in confidence, from nurses, pharmacists, physicians and the public. Most reports are analyzed and error prevention strategies are...

The Institute of Medicine report To Err Is Human has led to increased recognition of the problem of safety in the U.S. health system [1]. Subsequent studies have continued to document the need for improvement [2]. The next step in the process of improving safety in health care is to move from theoretical recognition of problems to implementation of practical initiatives that decrease adverse cl...

Medication errors are recognized as a major cause of patient safety. Physicians, pharmacists, and nurses need to a greater effort to reduce medication and medical errors. However, it is difficult to identify roles and responsibility through medication process and errors has still happened in a hospital. A major problem of medication process is an ambiguity and regulation violation. We propose a...

In healthcare settings, indicators are useful tools to assess the structure, process and outcomes of care. Moreover, when used to report to the public, indicators ensure greater transparency for our healthcare system. The purpose of this study was to identify in acute care settings three medication safety indicators that are suitable for public reporting in Ontario. A multi-phase process was de...

We compared the efficacy and safety of a biosimilar form of beta-interferon-1a (Actovex) versus the reference product in the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In a double blind, randomized phase 3 clinical trial, we evaluated 138 patients with RRMS that were allocated to receive the biosimilar medication and the reference treatment (30 μg intramuscular, weekly for one ...