Meeting: July 13, 2011

Meeting Date July 13, 2011 (10:12 am ~ 2:48 pm)

Member Organizations (Participating in Bold)

Discussion Items

1. Summary of the February 24, 2011 meeting
2. Agenda
3. Chair's Report
4. Secretariat's Report
   1. Revise agenda
   2. Nominations of Chair and Vice Chair will be sought in the near future
   3. Organizational membership renewal of ACP Foundation will be considered in October
   4. Copyright permission request from Johns Hopkins Healthcare Corporation
5. Drug Shortages
6. NCC MERP definition of Medication Error in relation to Harm vs. Error

7. Criminalization Statement
8. Subcommittee Reports
   1. Medication Measurement Project
   2. Crosswalk of AHRQ common formats with NCC MERP Taxonomy

9. New Business
   1. Request for Statement on Opposing Advertisement of Guaranteed Pharmacy Fill Times
10. Quarterly meetings proposed

Action Items*

1. Council member introductions. Four observers introduced.
2. The February 24, 2011 meeting summary was unanimously approved as posted and distributed.
3. The agenda was unanimously approved as revised to include disclosure of conflict of interest statements.
4. No conflicts of interest were acknowledged.
5. In light of Johns Hopkins Healthcare Corporation request to utilize selected components of the NCC MERP taxonomy, a subcommittee was formed to consider these requests and other issues related to the taxonomy (Diane Cousins Chair. Members include Rita Munley Gallagher, Shawn Becker, Michael Gaunt, Carol Holquist, Tara Modisett, Jean Krause and an ASHP representative. The Johns Hopkins request will be addressed. The Executive Committee will develop language for copyright statement on the web prior to the October meeting.
6. Drug Shortage Presentation ∼ shortages are increasing in unprecedented numbers and scope. FDA reports are lower because the medications they follow have been determined to be "medically necessary". Adverse patient outcomes are occurring as a result of the shortages. Oncology medications are of particular concern, as are generic injectable drugs. ISMP issued a safety alert on the topic last fall and is polling practitioners regarding availability of medications on the "gray" market. ASHP has offered recommendations to mitigate the shortages from a regulatory and/or legislative perspective and legislation has been introduced as a result. The Council could encourage the sharing of drugs as they move toward expiration to decrease waste as a result of hoarding.
7. An historical overview of the NCC MERP definition of "Medication Error" in relation to larger discourse on "Harm" vs. "Error" was provided. No change in the definition warranted at this point in time.
8. The Criminalization Statement as approved by the Council has been posted on the NCC MERP website. A council member expressed concerns regarding the title's exclusion of the word "medication" and the need to move verbiage within the document to add emphasis. The document will be evaluated for possible revision. Deborah Nadzam, Ann Gaffney, and Scotti Russell formed a subcommittee to evaluate possible revisions.
9. The Medication Measurement Project was discussed and the need for significant funding and effort were addressed. The Joint Commission's offer to collaborate on this effort is appreciated but the acknowledgement that there is ongoing work including the Partnership for Patients and other organizational efforts made it clear that the Council's work should complement others efforts that expand beyond safety in the hospital setting. After considerable discussion the Council elected to discontinue this project and monitor the outcomes offering support as appropriate to those engaged in this important effort.
10. An individual member provided a crosswalk of the NCC MERP Taxonomy and AHRQ's common formats. NCC MERP Taxonomy appears close to AHRQ common formats with some exceptions noted.
11. A subcommittee (Tom Clark and Michael Gaunt) will draft a Statement for Opposing the Advertisement of Guaranteed Pharmacy Fill Times. For presentation at the October meeting.
12. Future meetings will be held on a quarterly basis in January, April, July, and October (three via webinar and one face–to–face (July).

*Actions/decisions are those of the Council as a whole and may not reflect the views/positions of individual member organizations

Next Meeting Date

Webinar: October 27, 2011; 1:00pm – 4:00pm ET

Actions/Decisions are those of the Council as a whole and may not reflect the views/positions of individual member organizations.