tacles, which increasing numbers of facilities are adding to perioper-
ative areas, improve the safety of disposing waste by deactivating or
binding the medications to render them unusable.
It's best to place these specialized disposal containers in high-
traffic, high-visibility locations or areas close to where controlled
medications are stored or administered for ease of use. When used
properly, the receptacles provide a mechanism for staff to effi-
ciently process medication waste at the point of care.
In your hands
Medication safety in the surgical setting is improving. Technological
advances, such as barcode verification, are helping to prevent errors
from reaching patients. Still, more developments are needed to ensure
technology can be applied seamlessly into the work environment of
the OR, where medications are sometimes needed quickly to treat a
patient's rapidly changing condition. Until high-tech solutions can be
fully relied upon to improve medication safety, it's your responsibility
to limit the risk of human error in drug preparation and administra-
tion. Support your surgical team by enacting policies that make med-
ication mistakes less likely and invest in products that help ensure
they give the right dose of the right medication to the right patient at
the right time.
OSM
7 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8
Ms. Michalek (cmichalek@ismp.org) is a medication safety specialist at the
Institute for Safe Medication Practices in Horsham, Pa.
