Hello,

How do you identify high alert/high risk meds in code cart? Do you affix any high alert labels to any meds in your code cart? If so, which ones?

Thank you so much in advance,

Viktoria Fridman, Pharm.D.
Manager of Medication Safety and Education

Hi All,

Can those of you who work at health-systems with multiple inpatient sites on one instance of Epic share your approach to High Alert medications? Specifically,

1) Do you have one shared list or does each site have their own?
2) Do you leverage your EMR-generated labels to designate those meds that are High Alert? How does this work if you have one list?

How does your EHR display concentrated insulin U-500 to distinguish it from other insulin orderables?

In updating our LASA system-wide policy, we have considered adding morphine oral liquid concentrate and morphine non-concentrated liquid. This pair is on ISMP's list of confused drug names. However, opioids are on our high alert medication policy. We were wondering if that's enough? Does your organization include this pair in your LASA policy? What strategies do you use to prevent a mix-up between these drugs in the ambulatory and acute care setting?

Does anyone have high alert storage precautions/warnings set up for meds (e.g. NMBs) in your automated pharmacy carousels? I've heard of using red tape or auxiliary stickers in the bins, but that could be difficult to see if bins are full, and hard to keep up when meds are moved around, etc. Is there any automated messaging capability? We use Talyst.

Hi, I'm curious what people think about the use of auxiliary labels on final dispensed products... i.e. when techs or RPhs place "High Alert Medication" or "Continuous Infusion" or "For RT Use only" labels on the products. This can definitely bring attention to safety concerns, but what happens when people forget? Could this actually increase risk if nurses rely on these labels to identify risks? What are some ways to make this practice more consistent? Considering if/how this should be addressed in our high alert policy. Thanks!

How are High Alert IV medications labeled on your inpatient nursing units?