ASHP Advantage: Standardize 4 Safety: Taking Aim at Strategies for Adoption

Safety is at the forefront of all processes in the pharmacy department. ASHP has been a champion of safety since the organization originated more than 75 years ago.  ASHP received funding from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Safe Use Initiative to develop and implement national standardized concentrations for IV. and oral liquid medications. This is the first national inter-professional (physicians, pharmacists, nurses) initiative to standardize medication concentrations with the goal of reducing prescribing, dispensing, and medication errors for patients of all ages in settings ranging from hospital to home. This outstanding program, called Standardize 4 Safety, will have substantial downstream effects on safety, cost, efficiency, and error-reduction. Standardization will result in consolidated/converged product demand from hospitals, and more instances of ready-for-use drug preparations from manufacturers, simpler drug libraries, improvements to automatic drug recognition by infusion pumps, and improved clinical information system data exchange.  The information presented during the podcast reflects solely the opinions of the presenter. The information and materials are not, and are not intended as, a comprehensive source of drug information on this topic. The contents of the podcast have not been reviewed by ASHP, and should neither be interpreted as the official policies of ASHP, nor an endorsement of any product(s), nor should they be considered as a substitute for the professional judgment of the pharmacist or physician.