How RCA and FMEA Help Pharmacies Strengthen Safety Systems Medication safety in pharmacy practice is not only about preventing errors. It is also about learning from what happens and proactively strengthening systems before problems occur. Across Canada, pharmacy Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) programs encourage pharmacies to analyze risks and improve systems. In British Columbia, the […]
Why Inactivating Discontinued Medications Prevents Practice Incidents in Community Pharmacy In every Canadian community pharmacy, patient profiles are the backbone of safe medication management. Yet one small oversight continues to contribute to preventable practice incidents: failing to inactivate discontinued medications in the pharmacy software system. Across Canada, Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) programs such as Alberta’s […]
Terms to Avoid When Documenting a Practice Incident in Pharmacy How a practice incident is documented matters just as much as what is documented. Across Canada, Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) programs, such as CQI+ in Alberta, CIRCL in British Columbia, AIMS in Ontario, and similar frameworks in other provinces, emphasize learning, system improvement, and patient […]
How Close Call Reporting in Pharmacies Helps Protect Patients’ Hearts February is recognized across Canada as Heart Month, a time to raise awareness about cardiovascular health, prevention, and safe medication use. While conversations often focus on lifestyle changes and adherence, one critical aspect of heart health is sometimes overlooked: medication safety. For patients living with […]
How Inconsistent Dose Expressions Can Lead to Medication Incidents Medication incidents are often associated with wrong drugs or wrong patients, but in many cases, risk arises from something far less obvious: how a dose is written or displayed. Differences in units of measure, such as micrograms versus milligrams, can create confusion across prescribing systems, pharmacy […]
A Practical Guide for Alberta Pharmacies Preparing for ACP’s CQI+ Program February 1 marks a major milestone for Alberta community pharmacies. The Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) is implementing the Continuous Quality Improvement Plus (CQI+) program, setting clear expectations for how pharmacies identify, analyze, and learn from medication incidents and close calls. For many pharmacies, […]
Implementing a change in pharmacy practice is an important milestone, but it is not the end of the safety journey. In fact, it is often just the beginning. Under the Alberta College of Pharmacy’s Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI+) framework, pharmacies are expected not only to introduce improvements, but also to monitor, evaluate, and refine those […]
Medication incidents rarely happen because of a single mistake. In most community pharmacies, incidents occur when system pressures, knowledge gaps, and medication design risks collide. Across incident reporting data and CQI reviews, three contributing factors appear again and again: Understanding these factors, and addressing them within the reality of a busy pharmacy, is key to […]
Finding the Right Balance: Applying the Hierarchy of Effectiveness in Independent Pharmacies Improving patient safety in a community pharmacy is not about choosing the most effective intervention on paper. It is about choosing what is realistic, affordable, and sustainable in day-to-day practice. The Hierarchy of Effectiveness, widely used in patient safety and quality improvement, helps […]
Why Empowering the Whole Team Strengthens Patient Safety One of the most common questions we hear from community pharmacies implementing Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI+) is this: “Can non-regulated staff, such as pharmacy assistants, report incidents?” The short answer, under the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) CQI+ program, is yes. In fact, enabling the entire pharmacy […]
