The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7481 p639
8 December 2007

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Safe dispensing design guides issued by NPSA

Advice on how to minimise errors in the dispensary has been issued by the National Patient Safety Agency in the form of two new booklets in the agency’s “Design for patient safety” series.

Both documents illustrate how the dispensing process in community and hospital pharmacies can be simplified to anticipate and prevent human error.

The first considers the dispensary layout, focusing on workflow and the delivery and storage of stock. The second looks at the design of dispensed medicines, particularly the presentation of dispensing labels.

Launching the two guides at the end of last week, David Cousins, head of safe medication practice at the NPSA, said there had been a change in thinking within health care. “We now recognise that we are human and that we need systems that can cope with the human condition.”

NPSA chief executive, Martin Fletcher, said: “The proportion of errors is very small but the number needs to be reduced. Many dispensing issues can be resolved through a simple redesign of space or procedures.

“All dispensing environments need to anticipate simple human error and where possible ensure the environment and procedures minimise the likelihood of it happening.”

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