Another Case of Nursing Criminalization—Long-Term Care (LTC) Must Improve Systems, Not Blame Nurses—Part I   

This ISMP Medication Safety Alert!® Acute Care newsletter article describes another case in which a nurse, this time working in long-term care (LTC), was criminally indicted after a patient died du...

MERP Annual Review Exposes How Manufacturer Labeling/Quality Issues Impact Medication Safety

From July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, a total of 1,016 voluntarily submitted reports were sent to the ISMP National Medication Errors Reporting Program (ISMP MERP). Healthcare practitioners uti...

ISMP 27th Annual Cheers Awards: Making Medication Safety Magic

This week, ISMP celebrated the 27th annual CHEERS AWARDS, which recognize individuals, organizations, and groups that have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to advancing the science and study o...

Take Action to Prevent Tubing Misconnections—Part II

Problem: Tubing misconnections, or inappropriate connections between devices with different intended uses, have resulted in serious harm or death.1,2 In Part I, published in our October 31, 2024 ne...

Fluid shortage update—Safeguard imported products

Baxter announced it plans to restart manufacturing intravenous (IV) solutions at its North Cove, North Carolina facility this week. In the interim, as most readers are aware, the US Food and Drug A...

Survey Results Reveal Tubing Misconnections Are Common and Underreported—Part I

Problem: Tubing misconnections refer to what happens when a tube, syringe, or medical device from one delivery system is inappropriately connected to a system that serves a completely different fun...

The Four Greatest Weaknesses in the American Healthcare System Fueling Preventable Harm

Every clinician swore an oath to “do no harm,” and yet, while unintentional, preventable harm is inflicted on patients every day in healthcare.   For decades, valiant efforts have been underway to ...

Weathering the storm— Safety considerations during fluid shortages

Problem: As most readers are aware, on September 29, 2024, Baxter announced that their North Cove, NC manufacturing plant was temporarily closed due to damage from Hurricane Helene. This facility i...

ISMP National Vaccine Errors Reporting Program 2022-2023 Analysis: New Vaccines, New Errors

Problem: Though immunization is one of the greatest public health achievements, continued success relies on the appropriateness with which vaccines are prescribed, dispensed, stored, and administer...