Dept of Health Alert, Medication Errors in Care Homes
You may be aware of an Alert issued by the Department of Health on 6th January 2010. This Alert calls upon all PCTs to start working with pharmacies, GPs and care homes to address the issue of medication errors. A copy of the document can viewed by clicking here.
The Alert is in response to a study that was funded by the DH and carried out by the London School of Pharmacy. It found 70% of residents had medication errors and these related to prescribing, dispensing and administration.
Whilst the findings are depressing, they are not that surprising. If anything, now that the DH is committed to identifying ways of reducing these errors, we have an opportunity to make a change. Together, we can offer viable solutions to the DH and the PCTs that will improve the safety of your residents.
The Solution
Pharmacy Plus is now proud to present the new Pharmacy Plus Service with our unique Proactive Care System (PCS), the first barcode validation system for use in Care Homes. PCS has been specifically designed to improve medicines management by reducing drug errors and improving stock control.
