Pharmacy Connection
As part of the College’s commitment to making ongoing enhancements to the mandatory Assurance and Improvement in Medication Safety (AIMS) Program, registered users of the AIMS Pharmapod platform were recently surveyed and asked to identify barriers to reporting medication safety events and to provide insights on potential improvements to both the AIMS Program and the reporting platform.
More than 500 users responded to the survey. Highlights of the feedback provided by registrants have been published in a summary report. The data gathered in this survey is being used to help make the AIMS Program an easier-to-use, more valuable tool in your pharmacy’s continuous quality improvement efforts. It is also helping to identify tips that can help AIMS users better navigate the medication safety event reporting platform and the overall reporting process. The College is planning additional brief follow up surveys this year that will give users further opportunity to help enhance and evolve the overall medication safety program for pharmacies.
In addition to the quantitative results shared in the summary report, the College continues to receive positive comments from AIMS Program users who have seen the benefits of recording medication safety events and using that data to develop action plans for preventing future reoccurrences. For newer users of the AIMS incident reporting platform or for those still working to implement it in their busy pharmacies—as well as for those who have successfully made the AIMS Program part of their pharmacy’s regular workflow—these comments highlight the value of identifying medication safety incidents and near misses as a first step in reducing the likelihood of them happening again.
The College will continue to engage with pharmacy professionals on ways to enhance the AIMS Program, and to support its use as an important tool in your pharmacy’s continuous quality improvement efforts.
