Giant Eagle Pharmacy Lauded For Operational Excellence
Giant Eagle Inc., recently received a Cheers award from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) for its “superlative standard of excellence” in the prevention of medication errors and adverse drug events in its efforts to ensure high-quality customer service and accuracy.
Having implemented two quality initiatives that have subsequently been shared with other industry members, Giant Eagle Pharmacy’s “No Defects Passed Forward” (NDPF) encourages staff to identify errors before they reach the pharmacist for final verification, while the second program prevents point-of-sale errors by linking the pharmacy-dispensing system to the registers. A bar code with patient date of birth was added to prescription receipts — when scanned, a blind prompt is created for the team member to enter that date. If it doesn’t match or is not entered, the sale can’t be completed. The only way the date can be obtained is by asking the person picking up the prescription. Both of these programs help ensure that the right drug gets to the correct patient.
“Medication accuracy is paramount at Giant Eagle,” said Randy Heiser, VP of Giant Eagle Pharmacy. “We’re honored to be recognized by the ISMP for our dedication to the health and wellbeing of our customers.”
Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle Inc. operates 163 corporate and 58 independently owned and operated supermarkets and 153 fuel and convenience stores throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, north central West Virginia and Maryland.
A nonprofit organization that works closely with health care practitioners and institutions, regulatory agencies, consumers, and professional organizations, Horsham, Pa.-based ISMP provides education on medication error prevention.
Having implemented two quality initiatives that have subsequently been shared with other industry members, Giant Eagle Pharmacy’s “No Defects Passed Forward” (NDPF) encourages staff to identify errors before they reach the pharmacist for final verification, while the second program prevents point-of-sale errors by linking the pharmacy-dispensing system to the registers. A bar code with patient date of birth was added to prescription receipts — when scanned, a blind prompt is created for the team member to enter that date. If it doesn’t match or is not entered, the sale can’t be completed. The only way the date can be obtained is by asking the person picking up the prescription. Both of these programs help ensure that the right drug gets to the correct patient.
“Medication accuracy is paramount at Giant Eagle,” said Randy Heiser, VP of Giant Eagle Pharmacy. “We’re honored to be recognized by the ISMP for our dedication to the health and wellbeing of our customers.”
Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle Inc. operates 163 corporate and 58 independently owned and operated supermarkets and 153 fuel and convenience stores throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, north central West Virginia and Maryland.
A nonprofit organization that works closely with health care practitioners and institutions, regulatory agencies, consumers, and professional organizations, Horsham, Pa.-based ISMP provides education on medication error prevention.