PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA — The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has announced the winners of its 27th Annual Cheers Awards, celebrating exceptional efforts to improve medication safety. The awards spotlight groundbreaking work in reducing vaccine-related errors, improving pediatric opioid management, and advancing technology for safer medication practices.
Recipients will be honored on December 10, 2024, at the Civic Theater in New Orleans. ISMP president Rita K. Jew praised this year’s winners for their innovative use of technology, saying they “set a high bar for the healthcare community.”
Vaccine Safety Leadership
The Quality Improvement Team at Cook Children’s Health Care System in Fort Worth, Texas, earned a Cheers Award for sharply reducing vaccine-related errors in its pediatric network. By integrating a clinical decision support tool into its electronic medical records, the team provided real-time alerts to prevent mistakes. Their work has helped avert more than 9,000 inappropriate vaccine orders and achieved a 91% reduction in errors for the hepatitis A vaccine series. Additionally, they introduced a dashboard monitoring system to maintain ongoing safety improvements.
Addressing Opioid Management
Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) received recognition for the Perioperative Opioid Stewardship Research Program (PROSPR), which focused on reducing opioid overprescribing after surgery. The program cut the amount of unused opioids retained by patients from 83% to 17% by revising processes and expanding to other medical conditions. SickKids also developed a system to facilitate the return and safe disposal of unused opioids and translated educational materials into multiple languages to increase accessibility for diverse families.
Lifetime Achievement Honoree
Dr. David W. Bates, an internationally recognized expert in patient safety, received the Michael R. Cohen Lifetime Achievement Award. Bates’ pioneering research into preventing medication-related harm has shown how technologies like computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and clinical decision support can reduce serious errors. His findings have influenced U.S. healthcare regulations and informed policies like the Institute of Medicine’s To Err is Human report.
Dr. Bates, who has published over 1,200 peer-reviewed papers cited more than 155,000 times, currently serves as the Medical Director of Clinical and Quality Analysis at Mass General Brigham and directs the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is also a professor at both Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
“These winners showcase the power of innovation and dedication in advancing medication safety,” said Dheerendra Kommala, M.D., chief medical officer at ECRI, ISMP’s affiliate organization. “Their efforts are making a profound impact on healthcare quality and patient care.”
The ISMP Cheers Awards continue to recognize leaders who set new standards for medication safety, inspiring the healthcare community to pursue higher levels of excellence.
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