Director of Centre

Professor Bryony Dean Franklin

About the Centre

The aims of the Centre are to conduct high quality research into medication safety, and to translate these findings into practice to make the use of medication safer for patients and the public.

The Centre, previously known as the Academic Pharmacy Unit, was formed in 2000 as a joint initiative between the School of Pharmacy (SOP) and Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust (HHNT). HHNT merged in 2007 with St Mary's NHS Trust and Imperial College to form Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, the largest NHS Trust in the UK and the UK's first Academic Health sciences Centre.  The Centre's joint NHS and academic involvement is reflected in its joint Chairs; there are Professor Ann Jacklin, Chief Pharmacist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and Professor Nick Barber,  Professor of the Practice of Pharmacy in the Department of Practice and Policy at SOP.

The Centre has links with SOP's Centre for Behavioural Medicine as well as the West London Renal and Transplant Centre, via the Pharmacy Renal Operational Behavioural Evaluation (PROBE) research group.  PROBE aims to create a forum for collaborative work through academic and practice based research by utilising research excellence at both Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and the Centre for Behavioural Medicine.

The Centre is also closely linked to the Centre for Patient Safety and Service Quality (CPSSQ) at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.  This was set up in 2007 as one of two UK centres funded by the National Insittute for Health Research.  CPSSQ research falls into five research programmes: (1) using of information to drive quality and safety; (2) design and evaluation of technology for patient safety; (3) safety skills and patient involvement; (4) building relaiability and resilience and (5) management roles in patient safety.  Professor Franklin is joint programme lead for the second programme, together with Lord Ara Darzi.

Research Areas

The Centre has a significant research output, focussing mainly on medication safety.  This is closely aligned with the research strategy of the Department of Practice and Policy, and with national and international research agendas.

Research falls into two main categories - reducing medication errors and improving the use of anti-infectives.

Recent research into medication errors incoudes analyses of human factors issues in medication errors, an evaluation of an electronic prescribing/barcode administration system; the evaluation of smart infusion pumps; development and evaluation of an interactive medication safety teaching package, and an evalfuation of two automated dispensing systems.  A study conducted by the PROBE group is examining patients' beliefs about phosphate binding medication and how this affects patient adherence.

Research into the use of anti-infectives includes developing methods for studying their use, and exploring the feasibility and benefits of earlier discharge following the review of intravenous anti-infectives.  The Centre is also involved with running the MSc in Infection Management for Pharmacists at Imperial College, together with the Health Protection Agency.

Latest news from the Centre can be viewed here.

Current projects that CMSSQ staff are working on can be viewed here.

The Centre for Medication Safety and Service Quality Biannual Report April 2006 - March 2008 is now available.