The COVID-19 pandemic revealed and exacerbated gaps in the safety and quality or healthcare in Canada. As the pandemic wears on, healthcare providers like you are facing increased stress, burnout, and resource scarcity, increasing the risk of patient harm. Older adults in particular face systemic barriers to safe and effective care. Canadian Patient Safety Week (CPSW) 2022, (October 24-28, 2022) focuses on the safer care of older adults with the theme of “Press play on Safety Conversations.”
As a pharmacy professional, you are among the most accessible healthcare providers with many opportunities to “Press play on Safety Conversations.” Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC) encourages us to change the way we think about safety by having safety conversations with patients and their advocates or loved ones. Learn more about safety conversations and the guiding principles of “ask, listen, and act” at the following link:
https://www.healthcareexcellence.ca/en/what-we-do/all-programs/canadian-patient-safety-week/
HEC is also offering the following complimentary webinars for CPSW 2022:
- Now is the Time to Press Play on Safety Conversations
- Safety Conversations Start with Creating a Safe Workforce – Lessons from Early Adopters of HSO’s Workforce Survey on Well-Being, Quality, and Safety
For additional resources on safer medication use for older adults, please see the following recordings from ISMP Canada about what pharmacy professionals can do to make care safer:
- Resolving Drug-Drug Interactions: A Guide for Community Pharmacies to Reduce Potential Hospitalizations (video)
- A Multi-Incident Analysis on Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults (video)
- Safe Medication Use in Geriatrics (video)
- Less is More: An Introduction to Deprescribing (video)
- SMART Medication Safety Agenda: Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults (PDF)
