Continuing professional development (CPD) is important in the context of risk management. Keeping the whole pharmacy team up to date with current practice, and working to broaden and maintain knowledge, skills and attitudes, will protect pharmacies from individual mistakes, slips and lapses.

Recording and analysing a pharmacy’s errors and near misses can help guide people towards generating a range of workable solutions. Consider the following questions:

• What are your current measures to manage this risk? Are they acceptable? Can they be improved?
• Do you want to consider managing the risk through avoidance, transferring it (with insurance) or accepting it?
• Working through the hierarchy of control measures, which of the possible solutions are the most effective at managing the risk?
• What do all the options cost?
• How long would they take to implement?
• Will they require additional changes that may also impact on effectiveness, cost or time to implement?
• Are there other risks associated with the solutions that will also need to be managed in the transition stage or once the solutions are established?
• Can the solutions be monitored for their effectiveness at managing risk in your current practice? Or will further changes be required?
• Finally, and most importantly, do the solutions manage the risk to a level you consider acceptable?