CMS Medication Administration, Management, and Safe Opioid Use
Date: 8/26/25
9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Central time
Audience:
Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nursing Officer, Compliance Officer, Emergency Department Personnel, Joint Commission Coordinator, Medical Records, Quality Improvement personnel, Risk Manager, Legal Counsel.
Overview:
This program will discuss the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) standards on medication administration and IV medication, including required hospital policies, ISMP IV Push guidelines, blood transfusion and safe opioid use. In addition to the CMS requirements, this session will discuss opioid use guidelines from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other organizations. The session will also cover guidelines on acute pain from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
This session will cover the nursing Conditions of Participation (CoPs) as they relate to medication and blood administration, patient assessment and monitoring, staff education, and adverse medication events. CMS Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) standards, including the need to monitor patients receiving opioids, will also be discussed.
Learning Objectives:
-Describe the three different timeframes in which all medications must be administered.
– Recall that CMS has required policies and education requirements on medication administration and safe opioid use.
– Explain the CMS requirements to ensure nurses are competent when giving IV medications or blood transfusions.
– Discuss the opioid prescribing guidelines issued by the CDC.
Speaker:
Laura A. Dixon served as the director of risk management and patient safety for the Colorado Region of Kaiser Permanente. Prior to joining Kaiser, she served as the director, facility patient safety and risk management and operations for COPIC from 2014 to 2020. In her role, she provided patient safety and risk management consultation and training to facilities, practitioners, and staff in multiple states. Dixon has more than 20 years of clinical experience in acute care facilities, including critical care, coronary care, peri-operative services, and pain management. Prior to joining COPIC, she served as the director, Western region, patient safety and risk management for The Doctors Company in Napa, California. In this capacity, she provided patient safety and risk management consultation to the physicians and staff for the western United States As a registered nurse and attorney, Dixon holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Regis University, RECEP of Denver, a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Drake University College of Law, Des Moines, Iowa, and a Registered Nurse Diploma from Saint Luke’s School Professional Nursing, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is licensed to practice law in Colorado and California.
This speaker has no real or perceived conflicts of interest that relate to this presentation.
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