National Patient Safety Awareness Week

National Patient Safety Awareness Week is a national awareness campaign for improving patient safety at the local level. ASHP encourages its members to plan events focused on educating patients how to become involved in their own health care, as well as working with hospitals to build partnerships with the patient community.

Suggested Activities:

• Give a presentation to colleagues about the pharmacists’ role as it relates to National Patient Safety Awareness Week
• Create an informative hospital lobby exhibit with handouts on safe medication use
• Volunteer as a hospital spokesperson on medication related issues

National Poison Prevention Week

Prescription medications are often to blame in accidental poisonings. National Poison Prevention Week presents an ideal opportunity for hospital pharmacists to educate the public about the precautions regarding the storing their medications at home, ways to avoid medication errors while in the hospital, and what to do if they experience an adverse drug event. It is also a chance to raise public awareness about the valuable role that pharmacists play in ensuring medication safety.
Suggested Activities:

• Volunteer to give a presentation on safe medication use at a local library or community center.  Talk to parents, grandparents, and other caregivers about proper medication storage and provide them with helpful tips, including:
• Safe places to store prescription and over-the-counter medicines,
• Lists of poisonous household items, and 
• Handouts on safe medication use.
• Make medication safety presentations at local schools. Get elementary school-aged children in the act by sponsoring a poster contest. You can also talk to them about:
• Common poisonous household items,
• Safety tips, and
• The dangers of sniffing chemicals
• Encourage participation in Poison Prevention Week activities at your practice site by:
• Providing your public relations department with an article for the health system’s newsletter
• Setting up a “Train-the-Trainer” program with your local poison control center.

National Pharmacy Technician Day (October 23)

National Pharmacy Technician Day is designed to recognize the contributions of pharmacy technicians and their vital role in providing pharmaceutical care.

• Volunteer to speak to students in a local pharmacy technician training program.
• Provide brochures or flyers to explain the role of pharmacy technicians in providing care.

Talk About Prescriptions Month – October

Talk about Prescriptions month was created to emphasize that better medicine communication between consumers and healthcare providers is crucial for safe and appropriate medication use.

• Participate in your hospital’s speakers bureau
• Volunteer as a hospital spokesperson to discuss the importance of dialogue between pharmacists and patients

American Pharmacists Month

The goal of American Pharmacists Month is to recognize the vital contributions made by pharmacists to health care in the United States, to enhance the image of pharmacists as the medication experts, and to educate the public, policy makers, pharmacists, and other health care professionals about the key role played by pharmacists in reducing overall health care costs by improved medication use and advanced patient care.

• Connect with hospital public relations, community wellness or marketing departments to raise awareness about the role of pharmacists in hospitals and health systems during American Pharmacists Month.