Promoting outpatient medication safety in Finland: A mid-term review of a national medication safety programme for community pharmacies (2021–2026)

Abstract

Pharmacotherapies are common therapeutic interventions in patient care. Despite most medications being self-managed by patients at home, little attention has been paid to medication risks in the outpatient medication management process. As community pharmacies dispense medicines to outpatients, they are well-positioned to decrease preventable harm by implementing systemic medication risk management practices. This article is a mid-term review of a national development programme to enhance community pharmacies’ involvement in outpatient medication risk management in Finland (Valo programme 2021–2026). The article comprises the programme description utilising the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's framework, and the programme's preliminary mid-term results.

Through the programme: 1) the same patient safety incident reporting and learning system used by most Finnish health- and social care (HSC) organisations was implemented in community pharmacies, 2) medication safety culture was promoted by enhancing community pharmacists’ competencies in medication safety, 3) regional collaboration between community pharmacies and HSC organisations was supported through networks, and 4) a national research strategy was created to support outpatient medication safety research.

Involving community pharmacies in outpatient medication risk management supports HSC systems. This article introduces nationwide actions that could be utilised in other countries to enhance community pharmacies’ involvement.