Statement 5.2

“Hospital pharmacists should ensure the development of appropriate quality assurance strategies for medicines use processes to detect errors and identify priorities for improvement.”

What does it mean for patients? The safety of patients is the primary goal of the hospital pharmacist. Hospitals that fulfil quality and safety criteria from external accreditation programs ensure that continuing improvement practices are implemented in order to minimise errors

What does it mean for healthcare professionals? The medication practice process is very complex and external assessment programs help to identify critical aspects of the organisation and initiate appropriate preventive/corrective measures to achieve patients’ safety.

What does it mean for Hospital Pharmacists? Hospital pharmacists should conduct self-assessment activities to identify critical aspects in the medication process and communicate them internally to other healthcare professionals and hospital administrators

Hospital pharmacists should promote adherence to external quality assessment inspections/audits.
Hospital pharmacists should be involved and lead projects to improve quality and safety of the medication practices as risk management process. Examples include projects in areas of patient safety protocols, active pharmacovigilance, therapeutic reconciliation, discharge counselling and follow up, and transition of care programs