Example memo for all nursing units at Ridge Meadows Hospital on removing high-cost inhalers from Omnicell cabinets and wardstock. Provided by Fraser Health.
The pediatric pharmacy team at Surrey Memorial Hospital implemented a safe Ipratropium inhaler reuse program after recognizing that most inhalers were being discarded after only a few doses, despite containing substantial remaining medication. The pediatric emergency department alone uses about 1,200 ipratropium inhalers per year; staff collected over 1,000 partially used inhalers before the project began.
This step-by-step guide was developed by the Critical Air Project, led by Dr. Valeria Stoynova and Dr. Celia Culley at Island Health in Victoria, British Columbia. The steps in this guide are contextualized by the worked examples and recommendations from the Critical Air Project team.
