Medication Safety Officer’s Handbook

The medication safety officer's arena is fascinating, challenging, and ever-evolving. 

Whether you're new to medication safety or an experienced Medication Safety Officer (MSO), this guide will be an invaluable resource. The Medication Safety Officer's Handbook offers expert guidance in every area of your work, from setting up safety systems to dealing with personnel problems, along with sample forms, checklists and other job tools. 

You'll not only learn strategies for making changes, but also systems for error reporting and analysis, and guidance on managing adverse outcomes. Written by experts for pharmacists and nurses who oversee medication safety, it is the essential reference for all MSOs.

Get the answers you want at your fingertips, on questions such as:

• What are all the responsibilities of an MSO?
• How do I prioritize?
• With no formal authority, how do I make changes?
• How do I design a template for a modified root cause analysis?
• What should be included in a medication safety orientation for staff?
• Where is the most trustworthy information on a particular safety topic?

You'll find detailed information for all areas of medication safety, from automated dispensing cabinet override criteria to examples of a Sentinel Event alert gap analysis. With the Medication Safety Officer's Handbook by your side, you're never at a loss for answers.

Connie M. Larson, BS, PharmD

Connie M. Larson is the Medication Safety Officer for the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System in Chicago, IL. She is the Associate Director of Quality and Safety for Hospital Pharmacy Services. She earned her BS and PharmD in Pharmacy from the University Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy. 

Dr. Larson's interest in medication safety started early in her career while working in areas taking care of critically ill patients and other vulnerable patient populations such as pediatric and neonatal patients. She brings 25 years of medication safety expertise to her current position, where she provides leadership in medication safety initiatives, medication-use technologies, and operational management. She also introduces medication safety practices to students and residents through experiential rotations and teaching at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy.

Deb Saine, MS, RPh

Deb Saine is the Medication Safety Manager for Winchester Medical Center in Winchester, VA. Previously, she developed and held similar positions at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, and Meriter Hospital in Madison, WI. She earned her BS in Pharmacy from the University of Toledo, and her MS in Leadership and Management from Antioch University, New England.

Saine previously chaired the Section of Inpatient Care Practitioners Advisory Group on Medication Safety and is Vice-Chair of the ASHP Council on Pharmacy Practice. She has been Chair of the ASHP Section of Inpatient Care Practitioners and is a Past-President of the New Hampshire Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Ms. Saine has authored numerous articles and has presented internationally on the topic of medication safety.

An interview with the authors can be found here.
 

MedInfoNow: Doody’s Review Services 

[REVIEWER'S EXPERT OPINION] 

Jennifer L. Colon, PharmD, MS, MBA (Temple University School of Pharmacy) 

Description

This is an in-depth overview of the role of the medication safety officer and its many responsibilities. With a goal of providing a go-to resource to improve medication safety in practice, the book presents practical tools, tips, and examples that can be tailored for individual workplaces. 

Purpose

The book aims to address the responsibilities of a medication safety officer, how to prioritize in this role, how to make change happen without formal authority, what to include in a medication safety assessment for a formulary review, how to design a template for a modified root cause analysis, what to include in medication safety orientation for staff, and where to find more information on medication safety. These are worthy objectives as this is a rapidly evolving field, with more positions opening for medication safety officers, particularly in hospitals. 

Audience

It is written for pharmacists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who oversee medication safety and it is an essential reference for all medication safety officers. It also could serve as a reference for students, residents, or managers who are interested in learning more about medication safety. Both authors fill roles in this field at prominent institutions.

Features

This book covers organization involvement in medication safety, including how to start a program, implementing change, and addressing regulatory compliance and accreditation concerns. It also delves into promoting an overall culture of safety and prevention of human error by continuous quality improvement standards and staff education. It discusses safety as it relates to medication use technology, medication error reporting, root cause analysis, and event management. The format is the best aspect of the book. Chapters include headings for each topic so readers can quickly locate information without re-reading the entire chapter, clear tables and figures that further illustrate each topic, and concise summaries to reiterate and reinforce information. The index, glossary of terms, and glossary of acronyms enhance the value of the book as a reference. The figures and tables further detail the information discussed throughout the book. However, chapters seem longer then they need to be and the book has the effect of making medication safety seem more of a burden then an asset. 

Assessment

There are few books that specifically discuss the role of a medication safety officer. This makes this book particularly valuable. It is useful as a reference for facilities that already have a medication safety officer or medication safety role in place, and it is useful for an institution looking for great detail on starting and maintaining a program.

Weighted Numerical Score: 82 - 3 Stars