September 28th, 2017 will mark the first ever National Penicillin Allergy Day--ALK and the CDC have partnered to raise awareness about penicillin allergy amongst the healthcare community and the general public: www.nationalpenicillinallergyday.com. There is a National Penicillin Allergy Day (NPAD) “Tool Kit” available at: https://penallergytest.com/npad/tool-kit/. Please spread the word!
The Tool Kit and website contain promotional posters (unbranded), web content, social media links/content, patient education and additional information. Here is the link to get signed up for the Thunderclap message: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/60829-nationalpenicillinallergyday. The CDC will be sending out an infographic soon. It can be shared and used to promote the day.
Follow the activity on social media! Twitter: #nationalpenicillinallergyday or @penallergytest. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NatPenicillinAllergyDay/.
There are several activities that some hospitals and organizations around the U.S. have planned. Many are scheduling penicillin skin testing training days and revising internal materials to enhance their current drug allergy safety protocols. Others have “re-launched” their current penicillin allergy assessment practices or implementation efforts. Some other examples of participation are:
§ Competitions between floors via social media and a goal of having 1000 “tweets” about success stories, allergy identification efforts, and spreading the word about penicillin allergy.
§ Listening to a scheduled CIDRAP webinar about penicillin allergy (TBD).
§ Adding content about penicillin allergy to a staff, hospital or patient newsletter.
§ Hanging poster(s) in a staff breakroom, and announcing NPAD at shift change huddle.
§ Penicillin Allergy “Jeopardy” competitions.
§ Community training sessions to demonstrate how to test for penicillin allergy.
§ Creating and utilizing updated patient education materials.
§ Committing to assess allergy status during Stewardship rounds, ID Consults or during Antibiotic Time-Outs.
§ Developing implementation protocols, order sets and ways to better track penicillin allergy status.
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Thank you in advance for your support and for your help in getting the first annual National Penicillin Allergy day in the books. The next several weeks are going to be exciting! Feel free to reach out at any time if you have questions or need any assistance to spread the word about National Penicillin Allergy Day!
