December 5, 2005 Source: Dalhousie University:
http://www.dal.ca/news/media/2005/2005-12-05.html New Study on Medication Safety Receives $200,000 Dr. Neil MacKinnon, an Associate Professor at Dalhousie University, is the principal investigator of a new study that will focus on the development of medication safety measures. The study, worth over $200,000 including in-kind contributions, was one of 28 projects funded by the Canadian Patient Safety Institute’s inaugural Request for Applications competition, out of 327 project registrations. "This study will help to set national benchmarks for a safe medication use system that healthcare organizations across Canada could use," said Dr. MacKinnon. "Despite the fact that prescription drugs are now the second largest single health expenditure and one of our main treatment modalities, at this point in time, we have no uniform way of measuring the safety of medications use. This study will help to change this." The study will use a panel of national experts in medication safety to develop a set of measures, or indicators, which will then be tested in four partnering health authorities in Atlantic Canada: Capital District Health Authority, Annapolis Valley District Health Authority and the IWK Health Centre in Nova Scotia and the Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority in Newfoundland. Several national healthcare organizations including the Canadian College of Health Service Executives, the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the Canadian Pharmacists Association, the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists, and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada are also study partners. The other members of the multidisciplinary research team include Ms. Nicole Hartnell of Dalhousie University, Mr. David U of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada, Dr. Adrian Levy of the University of British Columbia and Ms. Mary Ellen Gurnham of Capital Health, NS. About Dalhousie: Dalhousie is a comprehensive, research-intensive university with more than 15,500 students. In The Scientist magazine, it was recently named one of the best non-commercial places to work as a scientific researcher outside the United States. Media inquiries, contact:
Charles Crosby
Charles.Crosby@dal.ca
Phone: (902) 494-1269
Fax: (902) 494-1472
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