Medication Safety Certificate

Medication Safety: An Introduction
ACPE: 0204-0000-25-773-H05-P&T
Application-based
2 contact hours 

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the most common causes and types of medication errors.
• Differentiate between active and latent failures.
• Identify system-based causes of medication errors.
• Describe the major areas of responsibility and essential skills of an effective medication safety leader in a complex healthcare environment.
• Recommend methods used to influence and engage key stakeholders in medication safety initiatives.
• Explain effective conflict management techniques used to build successful teams.
• Identify important findings from a medication error event that require further investigation. 

Foundations of a Medication Safety Culture
ACPE: 0204-0000-25-774-H05-P&T
Application-based
3 contact hours 

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the fundamental principles and concepts characteristic of high reliability organizations.
• Describe how high-reliability practices drive safe and effective care in the complex medication use system.
• Describe how the core principles of a learning health system support a culture committed to patient safety.
• Define a just culture and the meaning of a shared accountability.
• Explain why a just culture is essential to improving safety.
• Describe the types of human behaviors associated with errors and the appropriate responses to each in a just culture.
• Explain the role of staff surveys about patient safety in efforts to develop a just culture.
• Describe action steps that facilitate implementation of a just culture.
• Identify risk reduction strategies by their degree of leverage, i.e., low, medium, and high.
• Explain the disadvantages associated with implementing strategies without proven effectiveness.
• Explain how an algorithm should be used by interprofessional teams to analyze events, risks, and both system and individual accountability.
• Apply a just culture algorithm to staff behaviors following an event to determine a fair response. 

Quality Improvement Fundamentals
ACPE: 0204-0000-25-775-H05-P&T
Application-based
3.25 contact hours 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the most common quality improvement methodologies.
• Describe each phase of the plan-do-check-act cycle.
• Explain the principles of the Lean quality improvement methodology.
• Select Lean tools that can be used by interprofessional teams to improve medication safety.
• Explain how “people development” and “deference to expertise” lead to successful change cultures.
• Explain concepts related to Lean methodology, including Kaizen event and DMAIC, and the application of Lean improvement tools to the medication use system.
• Describe strategies for planning and implementing successful improvement projects. 

Human Factors Engineering
ACPE: 0204-0000-25-776-H05-P&T
Application-based
4 contact hours 

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the basics of human factors engineering concepts and methods.
• Apply human factors engineering concepts when analyzing medication safety events.
• Differentiate the human factors methods of usability testing and heuristic evaluation.
• Describe how heuristic evaluation and usability testing can be used to improve medication safety. 

Interface Between Technology and Safety
ACPE: 0204-0000-25-777-H05-P&T
Application-based
2.25 contact hours 

Learning Objectives:

• Explain specific technology solutions available to address safety concerns throughout the stages of the medication use process.
• Summarize the benefits, improvements, and errors associated with technology solutions.
• Explain the need for a structured system, processes, and resources necessary to promote optimization of technologies in support of medication safety.
• Apply effective clinical decision support in computerized prescriber order entry and electronic prescribing (e-prescribing).
• Identify three challenges related to the implementation of technology within the medication use process.
• Evaluate the benefits and challenges associated with the implementation of technologies designed to support safe medication administration.
• Analyze potential failure modes in technology implementation and maintenance.
• Summarize the importance of using data to evaluate if implemented technology is achieving safety benefits. 

Proactive Identification of Medication Risk
ACPE: 0204-0000-25-778-H05-P&T
Application-based
1.75 contact hours 

Learning Objectives:

• Use external resources to prospectively evaluate medication safety risks.
• Identify the components of failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA).
• Explain the strengths and limitations of proactive risk identification, such as FMEA.
• Apply failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) for risk identification. 

Reactive Identification of Medication Risk
ACPE: 0204-0000-25-779-H05-P&T
Application-based
3.5 contact hours 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the principles of medication safety risk identification.
• Compare strengths and limitations of methods of reactive medication safety risk identification.
• Explain the types of technology data that can be used to identify medication safety risks. 

Investigation and Analysis of Medication Errors
ACPE: 0204-0000-25-780-H05-P&T
Application-based
1.5 contact hours 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe a systematic approach to the identification, investigation, and assessment of medication events including methods for managing a successful institutional event reporting program.
• Explain the relationship between adverse drug events, adverse drug reactions, and medication errors.
• Contrast examples of skill-based, rule-based, and knowledge-based errors.
• Differentiate algorithms and tools available to assist in system-based investigation, assessment, and outcome classification of medication events.
• Explain the major steps and components of a root cause analysis (RCA) process.
• Compare alternative methodologies available for conducting cause analyses.
• Identify regulatory expectations for event management to protect patients, improve systems, and prevent harm. 

Reducing Risk of System-Based Causes of Error & Applying Risk Reduction Strategies
ACPE: 0204-0000-25-781-H05-P&T
Application-based
2.25 contact hours 

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the concept of risk reduction strategies in preventing and reducing system failures.
• Explain and provide examples of the four principles of risk reduction.
• Identify risk reduction strategies by their degree of leverage, i.e., low, medium, and high.
• Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of each type of risk reduction strategy.
• Give an example of each type of risk reduction strategy.
• Apply effective risk reduction strategies to medication error events.
• Identify latent failures in the medication use system that contribute to a medication error event.
• Identify the key system element from a medication error event with the greatest potential for error prevention.
• Select strategies to prevent medication error events from occurring in other organizations. 

Disclosure of Medication Errors and Caring for Second Victims
ACPE: 0204-0000-25-782-H05-P&T
Application-based
1 contact hour 

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the importance of honest disclosures and sincere apologies to patients and family members following an adverse event.
• Describe the role of the medication safety leader in the disclosure of medication errors.
• Define second victim phenomenon.
• Identify the six predictable phases of the second victim recovery process.
• Explain three ways healthcare organizations can provide peer support to caregivers following an adverse event. 

Medication Safety Improvement Planning and Implementation
ACPE: 0204-0000-25-783-H05-P&T
Application-based
2 contact hours

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the following about medication safety plans:
  • Resources available to assist the interprofessional team in the development of a medication safety plan;
  • The importance of integrating a medication safety plan into an organization's strategic plan; and
  • Potential challenges associated with developing and executing a medication safety plan.
• Explain Kotter's eight steps for leading change and how they can be applied to medication safety initiatives.
• Discuss factors that promote the diffusion of innovation and spread of changes.
• Identify three key factors that are considered during prioritization of risk reduction strategies.
• Explain the elements required for successful implementation of medication safety improvements including, but not limited to, a call to action, identifying key stakeholders, and tracking the progress of improvement projects.
• Describe the RACI model for managing stakeholder engagement.
• Describe the use of A3 and Gantt charts for planning and tracking improvement projects.
• Explain important considerations related to going live with medication safety initiatives including, but not limited to, staff education, collecting feedback, and communicating and celebrating improvements.
• Describe methods for measuring and communicating medication safety improvements including types of metrics, and dashboards and scorecards.