Program Resources and Updates

Reports and Bulletins

• AIMS Data Snapshot: September 2019
  A statistical summary of the events recorded in the platform to September 2019.
• Taking AIMS: the AIMS Response Team Bulletin for the Pharmacy Profession in Ontario (September 2019)
  The first independent expert bulletin that provides a preliminary analysis of medication incidents and near misses recorded in the platform from February 2018 to May 2019.
• Assessment of the Assurance and Improvement in Medication Safety (AIMS) Program (March 2019)
  A report by Todd Boyle of St. Francis Xavier University on key findings related to AIMS program uptake and sustained use in community pharmacies.

Training Resources

• AIMS Program e-Learning
  Community pharmacy staff must complete the six e-learning modules which introduce the AIMS Program and provide information on how to use the AIMS Pharmapod platform as well as the expectations for pharmacy professionals. The modules take less than one hour to complete. Effective implementation of the AIMS Program into a pharmacy requires all pharmacy staff to have a full understanding of the program and how to use the tools available on the platform. After completing each module, registrants can print a certificate of completion to confirm they have reviewed the content. This certificate of completion may be kept for your own records and does not need to be submitted to the College.
• Pharmacy Safety Self-Assessment User Guide
  Overview and guide for completion of the Pharmacy Safety Self-Assessment (PSSA), which community pharmacies were required to complete for the first time by December 31, 2021.

Medication Incident Resources

• Dispensing Error Incident Form
  Pharmacy professionals must use the AIMS platform to record medication events and can use the pharmacy-level fields to record identifiable information (i.e. prescription number, prescriber name, staff involved) for internal purposes in addition to the mandatory fields. The College does not have access to any of the pharmacy level fields. The Dispensing Error Incident Form is provided for pharmacies who may have need of another printable format to record details of a medication incident for internal purposes.
• Focus on Error Prevention columns (Pharmacy Connection)
• Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)
  • ISMP articles published in Pharmacy Connection
  • ISMP Tools and Resources
• ISMP Canada Safety Bulletin – Strategies for Safer Telephone and Other Verbal Orders in Defined Circumstances (May 2020)
• Disclosure of Medication Incidents: A Suggested Framework (Pharmacy Connection, Summer 2019)
• Medication Incidents Associated with Patient Harm in Community Pharmacy: A Multi-Incident Analysis (Pharmacy Connection, Winter 2018)

Pharmacy Connection Articles Related to AIMS

• Community Pharmacists’ Role in Oral Anti-Cancer Drug Treatment (January 2024)
• AIMS: Recognizing the Value of Good Catches (Near Misses) (October 2023)
• The Right Vaccine for the Right Patient (March 2023)
• Methadone Dispensing: Learning from Recent Incidents (January 2023)
• 3 Things Pharmacy Technicians Can Do to Support Safe and Effective Patient Care (December 2022)
• Promoting Safety Through Conversation: Patient Assessments (November 2022)
• User Feedback Continues to Enhance AIMS Program and Platform including video: What we heard from users (May 2022)
• AIMS Tips and Enhancements (May 2022)
• How Swiss Cheese Can Help Visualize Medication Safety Risks (September 2021)
• Tips for Incorporating AIMS in a Busy Pharmacy (July 2021)
• Using Continuous Quality Improvement to Enhance Medication Safety (May 2021)
• A Proactive Approach to Medication Safety: The Pharmacy Safety Self-Assessment (Winter/Spring 2021)
• AIMS: Identifying Areas of Risk with the PSSA (Spring/Summer 2020)
• AIMS: Committing to Continuous Quality Improvement (Spring/Summer 2020)
• Moving Forward with the Pharmacy Safety Self-Assessment (Winter 2020)
• Shared Learning, Shared Accountability (Summer 2019)
• Exercise Professional Judgment When Deciding to Record a Near Miss (Spring 2019)
• AIMS Program On Track To Be Fully Rolled Out by Mid-2019 (Winter 2019)
• Moving Forward: Medication Safety Program Rolls Out to All Community Pharmacies in Ontario (Fall 2018)
• Foundations of Safety: Supplemental Standard of Practice and Standards of Operation (Fall 2018)
• Safe Pharmacies Need Psychological Safety (Summer 2018)
• Building Momentum: Ambassador Pharmacies Pave The Way for Medication Safety (Summer 2018)
• Preparing for Ontario’s Medication Safety Program (Spring 2018)
• Towards a Safer System: An Interview with Patient Advocate Melissa Sheldrick (Winter 2018)
• College Selects Pharmapod to Implement Medication Error Reporting System (Fall 2017)
• A Continuous Quality Assurance Program for Medication Safety (Summer 2017)
• Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI): An Essential Constituent of Patient/Medication Safety (Winter 2017)

Background and Briefing Notes

• AIMS Backgrounder (September 2019)
• Council Briefing Note. Meeting Date: March 2017
• June 2017 Council Meeting Materials
• September 2017 Council Meeting Materials
• Implementation of Continuous Quality Assurance for Medication Safety

About the AIMS logo

A new visual identity the College’s medication safety program, Assurance and Improvement in Medication Safety (AIMS) Program, includes subtle references to the four aims of the program: Recording, documenting, analyzing, and sharing. The first and last letters, with a stylized treatment in colour, are a tribute to Andrew Sheldrick whose tragic passing has brought important public and professional attention to the need for medication error reporting in pharmacies throughout the country.