Here are five things to know regarding the organization’s guidance, issued in an Oct. 16 news release:
- Avoid preparing smaller doses from fluid bags outside sterile compounding areas, especially without using IV workflow management systems.
- Storing concentrated sodium chloride vials or large bags of sterile water outside the pharmacy can lead to contamination and other risks.
- Ensure that practitioners understand how to administer medications correctly, particularly when switching from infusion to IV push methods, to prevent rate confusion.
- New products from alternative manufacturers may have similar packaging, increasing the risk of medication errors.
- Do not bypass barcode medication administration protocols due to unscannable barcodes, as this can lead to critical errors.
As the FDA works to temporarily import IV products, ECRI stressed the importance of reporting critical errors and sharing lessons learned to enhance patient safety, according to the release.
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