These conference proceedings are from an invitational meeting held in Tucson, Arizona, and co-sponsored by the ASHP Foundation and the Latiolais Leadership Program of The Ohio State University. The conference was designed to assist practitioners in improving the medication-use process to ensure patient safety by describing and comparing different metrics for measurement of the performance of the medication-use system. The proceedings from this conference were first published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP) in the December 1, 2002, issue.

At the conference, experts in the field and invited participants discussed proven and evolving measurement methods for medication-use systems.  Presentations included:

• “Observation Method of Detecting Medication Errors, Kenneth N. Barker, Elizabeth A. Flynn, and Ginette A. Pepper;
• Using Information Technology to Screen for Adverse Drug Events, David W. Bates; Practitioner Intervention Reporting Systems for Measuring the Quality of Drug Use, Timothy S. Lesar;
• Using Chart Review to Screen for Medication Errors and Adverse Drug Events, Rainu Kaushal;
• Voluntary Reporting of Medication Errors, Marjorie A. Shaw Phillips; and
• Using Technology to Enhance Measurement of Drug-Use Safety, Phillip J. Schneider.

To read the proceedings, click here.