Medication Safety Self-Assessment for Long-Term Care Pilot
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many team meetings should we schedule?
- Reports from previous users indicate it will take 2-3 hours to complete this self-assessment. Depending on your organization, you may wish to do this all at once or schedule two separate meetings. The assessment is divided into two sections, Part A: General and Part B: High-Alert Medications, creating a natural break point for a second meeting, if needed.
- Do we need an interdisciplinary team to complete the self-assessment?
- Yes. Because medication use is a complex, inter-disciplinary process, the value and accuracy of the assessment is significantly reduced if it is completed by a single individual or discipline involved in medication use.
- Do we need senior leadership representation on our team?
- Yes. Attendance by an individual from the Home's/facility's leadership team is valuable because the assessment contains many items that relate to your organization's overall commitment to resident safety. Additionally, participation in the self-assessment provides senior leadership with insight into areas of risk in the medication use system.
- What if an item doesn't apply to the services offered in my Home/facility?
- A "not applicable" response is available for selected assessment items.
- May I make copies of the self-assessment document?
- The copyright allows you to make copies of the self-assessment for internal use. You may not modify or alter the content. The assessment is intended for use as part of ongoing quality improvement activities. Other uses, such as in education presentations external to an individual Home/facility or corporate group require written permission from ISMP Canada. Email mssa@ismpcanada.ca for more information.
- My organization has a number of sites. Do I need a password for each one?
- It is recommended that each site within an organization complete the assessment independently. Each site will require its own password.
- How are individual items scored?
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The assessment items are scored as follows:
N = 0 Never - This item has not been implemented in our Home/facility
R = 1 Rarely - This item is implemented and in practice less than 40% of the time
S = 2 Sometimes – This item is implemented and in practice 40-70% of the time
O = 3 Often - This item is implemented and in practice 70-90% of the time
A = 4 Always - This item is fully implemented and in practice more than 90% of the time
NA Not applicable - Use this option where indicated, if an assessment item does not apply to your Home/facility