NIP-MedS: National Implementation Programme for Medication Safety
Development, review and implementation of measures for greater medication safety
Partner
- EOC – Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale
- GSASA – Schweizerischer Verein der Amts- und Spitalapotheker
- HUG - Hôpitaux Universitaires Genève
- Inselpital
- Schweizer Apothekerverband
- Spo Patientenorganisation
- University Zurich, Institute for Implementation Science in Health Care
- Swiss Center for Design and Health
Funding
- Eidgenössische Qualitätskommission (EQK)
Translated with DeepL.
Medication errors pose significant risks to patients. The NIP-MedS programme aims to improve medication safety throughout Switzerland. Over a period of six years, practical and low-threshold measures and implementation strategies will be developed and piloted. The Swiss Patient Safety Foundation is running the programme in close collaboration with the SCDH. Before being put into practice, the measures are evaluated and optimised using simulations in a realistic test environment in the SCDH's Living Lab. Experts from the field, scientific partners, patients and relatives are involved throughout the programme.
Medication safety is a key concern in healthcare, as medication errors pose significant risks to patient safety. Adverse drug reactions caused by medication errors are among the most preventable events in all areas of healthcare, including nursing homes, acute care hospitals, outpatient practices, pharmacies and ambulances, according to the Swiss National Health System.
The National Implementation Programme for Medication Safety (NIP-MedS) aims to ensure and improve medication safety throughout Switzerland. The focus is on the safe handling of high-risk medications, reducing medication mix-ups and medication and medication management when changes are made to the medications available. The programme aims to take stock of the current situation, develop practical and low-threshold measures, develop implementation strategies for the various areas of care and pilot these strategies, evaluate initial experiences and roll out the programme nationwide.
The six-year programme will be carried out in four phases. The Swiss Patient Safety Foundation is designing and implementing the programme and supporting service providers in implementing the measures developed. Experts from the field, scientific partners, patients and relatives will be involved throughout the programme. The SCDH is particularly involved in the first and second phases.
1. Programme phase: Concept development
In the first phase, a comprehensive assessment is carried out by means of literature research and on-site inventories. This serves as the basis for the development of feasible, efficient and sensible measures and their implementation in the following project phases.
2. Programme phase: piloting in a limited number of units
In the second phase, the measures adapted and newly developed in the concept phase will be tested for effectiveness using simulation in the SCDH Living Lab. They will then be tested in practice in pilot companies to evaluate their actual feasibility and acceptance and to identify those measures that should be included in the scale-up at national level.
Output category
Project
Area of activity
Systems and processes
Offering
Simulation and co-prototyping