Medication Management
Scope:
Health Standards Organization (HSO) is developing a new edition of its Medication Management standard. The new edition encompasses all activities related to prescribing, preparing, storing, dispensing, administering, monitoring effects, and disposing of medications. Medication Management emphasizes the shared responsibility for safe and effective medication management among people receiving care, their communities, organizational leaders, the workforce, and external stakeholders.
The new edition of the standard will provide specific requirements and accountabilities to support organizational leaders in enabling safe medication practices—to reduce medication related harm and errors across all care settings, for all populations. The standard will embed people-centred care principles into medication management and promote the translation of evidence into action by encouraging continuous learning opportunities for healthcare professionals. The standard will uphold a commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and cultural safety; coordinated care and integrated services, and a quality improvement and outcomes-focused culture.
Project need:
The new edition of the standard is being developed at the request of the CAN/HSO 3001 Technical Committee. The evolving healthcare landscape in Canada necessitates a new edition of the Medication Management standard to address the unique needs and challenges faced by the Canadian healthcare system. Changes in legislation across jurisdictions, the role of clinical governance, the evolving scope of practices of various healthcare professionals, the ongoing opioid crisis, and the challenges of antimicrobial resistance as well as technological advances have changed the landscape of Canadian healthcare delivery. Medication management has a direct impact on the provision of high-quality care. Promoting a collaborative approach to medication management, improving access to medications including traditional and alternative medicines, and ensuring safe handling of medications, are themes that the new edition will address.
Additionally, the new edition of the standard would support the WHO’s Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030, which identifies medication management as a key element of its strategy. It states: ‘implement a programme to transform the safety of medication management and use based on the third WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm.’ Canada is a steadfast supporter and active leader in many areas of the World Health Organizations (WHO) global health work.
Note: The information provided above was obtained by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and is provided as part of a centralized, transparent notification system for new standards development. The system allows SCC-accredited Standards Development Organizations (SDOs), and members of the public, to be informed of new work in Canadian standards development, and allows SCC-accredited SDOs to identify and resolve potential duplication of standards and effort.
Individual SDOs are responsible for the content and accuracy of the information presented here. The text is presented in the language in which it was provided to SCC.