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This website does not provide medical advice. If you require medical advice, contact your healthcare provider or, if you
think you may have a medical emergency, call 911.
None of us likes to think that our doctor, nurse, pharmacist or caregiver might make a mistake with our
medication, but these mistakes can - and do - happen. In a recent survey, nearly one in ten adult Canadians
with health problems reported receiving the wrong medication or the wrong dose from a pharmacy or hospital
within the previous two years.1 Fortunately, most medication errors don't cause harm, but some have
caused serious harm and even death.
ISMP Canada's consumer-focused website, www.SafeMedicationUse.ca, is part of the Canadian Medication Incident
Reporting and Prevention System (CMIRPS), a Canadian initiative to prevent harmful
medication incidents. CMIRPS is a voluntary, confidential program
that collects, analyzes and distributes information on medication incidents. The knowledge gained through
analyzing reports submitted to CMIRPS is used to make medication use safer. Up until now, most medication
incident reports have been provided by healthcare workers. CMIRPS needs information that consumers can provide,
but there hasn't been a convenient location where consumers can report medication incidents. SafeMedicationUse.ca
provides a better way for consumers to report medication incidents and to get information about using medication safely.
We are contributing to a national Action Plan on patient safety.
1Commonwealth Fund 2008 International Health Policy Survey of Sicker Adults. 2008 [cited 2009 May 24]. Available from:
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Surveys/
2008/The%202008%20Commonwealth%20Fund%20International%
20Health%20Policy%20Survey%20of%20Sicker%20
Adults/IHP2008_CMWF__DSQ_for_web%20pdf.pdf
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