Institute for Safe Medication Practices

Institute for Safe Medication Practices
Name	Institute for Safe Medication Practices
Formation	1970s
Type	Nonprofit organization
Headquarters	Horsham, Pennsylvania
Leader title	President

Institute for Safe Medication Practices is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing medication errors and promoting safe medication use. It engages with hospitals, pharmacies, regulatory agencies, and professional societies to analyze adverse drug events and recommend system-based improvements. The organization issues alerts, maintains reporting systems, and provides education to clinicians, pharmacists, and policymakers.

History

The organization traces roots to patient safety initiatives inspired by investigations into medication-related harm in the 1970s and 1980s involving institutions such as Johns Hopkins Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, UCLA Medical Center, and regulators including the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Early collaborations involved professional bodies like the American Pharmacists Association, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, and academic centers such as Harvard Medical School and University of Pennsylvania Health System. Over decades the group responded to high-profile medication safety cases tied to products from manufacturers such as Merck & Co., Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, and to policy shifts following actions by U.S. Congress, Institute of Medicine, World Health Organization, and Joint Commission. Influences included reports and inquiries associated with figures and events like William H. Stewart, Donald Berwick, Lucian Leape, and the publication of landmark works at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Mission and Activities

The group's mission emphasizes error prevention, safe prescribing, safe dispensing, reporting, and systems redesign, aligning with standards from Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, World Health Organization Patient Safety, National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, and professional guidelines from American Society of Clinical Oncology, Society of Hospital Medicine, American College of Physicians, and American Academy of Pediatrics. Activities include analyzing reports from clinicians, collaborating with regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency, advising hospital systems including Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and engaging payers like Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The organization issues guidance used by pharmacy chains such as Walgreens, CVS Health, Rite Aid, academic centers like Stanford Health Care, and international partners including National Health Service (England), Health Canada, and Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.

Publications and Alerts

The institute publishes newsletters, alerts, and safety bulletins widely read by clinicians, pharmacists, and regulatory bodies including the Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency. Its newsletters and alert notices are referenced in clinical journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, BMJ, The Lancet, and specialty journals including Annals of Internal Medicine and Pharmacy Practice News. Safety alerts have influenced labeling changes, recalls involving manufacturers like Baxter International, Sandoz, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, and product advisories coordinated with World Health Organization and national bodies such as Health Canada and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The publications highlight case studies from hospitals like Mayo Clinic and cite legal and policy developments from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Congress, and landmark reports from Institute of Medicine.

Safety Programs and Training

The institute operates programs for medication reconciliation, high-alert medication management, and safe administration techniques endorsed by organizations such as Joint Commission, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Association of American Medical Colleges, and National Patient Safety Foundation. Training modules target clinicians at institutions including Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Johns Hopkins Hospital and are incorporated into curricula at medical schools like Harvard Medical School and pharmacy programs at University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy. Programs address risks with classes of drugs produced by firms such as Novartis, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, and technologies from vendors like Epic Systems, Cerner Corporation, and BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company).

Research and Collaborations

Research efforts involve partnerships with universities and research centers including Harvard School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, and Yale School of Medicine. Collaborative projects have been conducted with regulatory and standards bodies such as the Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency, World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and patient safety networks like National Patient Safety Foundation and Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Studies have examined medication error epidemiology, systems engineering with inputs from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, health informatics involving HL7 International, and human factors research connected to NASA and Federal Aviation Administration methodologies.

Organizational Structure and Funding

The organization is governed by a board of directors composed of clinicians, pharmacists, and safety experts with affiliations to institutions such as Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and University of Toronto. Funding sources include philanthropic foundations like Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Commonwealth Fund, grants from agencies such as the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, contracts with healthcare systems including Kaiser Permanente and Intermountain Healthcare, and sponsorships from professional organizations such as American Pharmacists Association and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. The institute collaborates with international partners including World Health Organization, Health Canada, and the National Health Service (England) on funded safety initiatives.

Category:Patient safety organizations