The guidelines, according to a news release, will address drug-safety problems that hospitals and other providers often encounter. They will allow providers to set well-defined prescribing standards for common patient conditions.The checklist-formatted guidelines cover three areas: content, which includes making sure orders are complete and include information such as monitoring requirements; format, which will establish appropriate symbols, abbreviations and dose designation for medications; and approval of maintenance, which establishes protocol for managing initial approval of medication prescriptions, as well as revisions and updates of prescriptions.
Institute officials are advising healthcare organizations to use an interdisciplinary implementation process when adopting the guidelines, saying that use and maintenance of drug-prescribing standards requires a team approach.