Managing Medication Safety During COVID-19

Pharmacy Times^® interviewed Allison Hanson, PharmD, BCPS, 2019-2020 Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) International Medication Safety Management Fellow, to discuss medication safety during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including key medication safety takeaways from the pandemic and current advancement efforts in the promotion of knowledge around medication safety.

Dr. Hanson noted that the COVID-19 pandemic requires effective communication among organizations. She said, “We've seen a lot of organizations have success that really involved leaders and frontline pharmacists have discussions in order to come up with a response to rapidly changing information from COVID-19. Without having that communication and that structure that involves both leaders and frontline practitioners, it's very hard to respond to all the information that's changing so rapidly.”

Dr. Hanson also discussed key medication safety concerns that the Institute for Safe Medication Practices has been working to address, medication safety challenges that practitioners are facing during the pandemic, and the importance of understanding that harm from medication errors can occur in all countries in the world.