Program Resources and Updates
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Latest AIMS Bulletin Taking AIMS: the AIMS Response Team Bulletin for the Pharmacy Profession in Ontario (September 2019) |
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-Training
All pharmacy staff must complete the AIMS Program e-training, available within the AIMS Pharmapod platform. Effective use of the AIMS Program requires pharmacy staff to have a full understanding of the program and how to use the tools available. The six training modules together take less than an hour to do, with visual slides and a few questions to test understanding. They do not need to be completed at one time – the system will automatically save the place where the user was last. - Pharmacy Safety Self-Assessment User Guide
Overview and guide for completion of the Pharmacy Safety Self-Assessment (PSSA), which the pharmacy must 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 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
- 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)
Updates/News Items
- September 17, 2019 – College Welcomes First Expert Bulletin to Improve Medication Safety in Pharmacies
- November 1, 2018 – Ontario College of Pharmacists Moves Forward with Province-Wide Implementation of Mandatory Medication Safety Program for Pharmacies
- June 11, 2018 – OCP’S Medication Safety Program Video
- October 26, 2017 – Ontario College of Pharmacists selects Pharmapod to implement medication error reporting system for Ontario pharmacies
- June 21, 2017 – Council Approves Implementation of the Continuous Quality Assurance Program for Medication Safety
- March 30, 2017 – Statement from the College on Continuous Quality Assurance for Medication Safety
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.
