Will requiring CQI by law actually reduce errors?
Here is a article from Ken Baker that appears in DRUG TOPICS this month.
More states are passing regulations of CQI ( Continuing Quality Improvement)
According to the “THE PLAN” ... To reduce errors, each pharmacy must incorporate its plan into its workflow. Each technician and each pharmacist must be trained to understand and use the system each time a prescription is filled.
Nearly all the states BOP’s refuse to get involved in how a Rx dept is ran.. especially when it comes to establishing some sort of limits on the number of hours a RPH/tech can work without a break … or the number of hours can make up a “shift”… BUT… imposing something as ABSTRACT as CQI and mandating another time consuming process to track how errors – the genesis of many is under staffing.
According to this article … Florida was one of the first states to implement such.. isn’t it Florida – particularly Sanford, FL… where excessive number of control Rxs were being filled.. and it was reported that it was not the RPH’s who “blew the whistle” ….BUT… the technicians… is any part of CQI has to do with ethics… or just to make sure that all of those controlled Rxs were filled correctly… regardless if their use was questionable?
Those of you who are PIC’s.. these BOP’s have just put yet another “land mine” in your Rx dept… you don’t implement the program… the BOP could nail you… if you do implement it and you don’t show “continuous improvement”.. the BOP and/or your employer could come after you.. “take you out”… for yet one more thing that you have little/no control over.. if staffing level remains before what you consider safe… or staffing is cut further…
Filed under: General Problems
Oh great, just another implementation that we’re going to have to do with less help. How much more can we take before we break! Has this already gone into practice? Is it a national board of pharmacy idea or just some state boards of pharmacy?