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The increasing size of the transplant waiting list and the increasing use of expanded criteria donors places a premium on efficient use of recovered organs. Maximal organ utilization often necessitates organ sharing between transplant organizations. Optimal organ sharing requires rapid, integrated communication of donor information combined with expedited organ transportation. For more than 20 years, the United Network for Organ Sharing's Organ Center has fulfilled this task for the United States transplant community. This overview details a brief history of United States organ sharing and the role played by the Organ Center. The current scope and modes of Organ Center operations are detailed.

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Objective Patients who have an up-to-date and accurate medication list are less susceptible to medication errors and allow care teams to make more informed treatment decisions. Through utilizing student pharmacists to provide medication history services, we anticipate improved patient safety and overall quality of patient care. The purpose of this project was to implement a medication history service for ambulatory oncology patients of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Methods A phased approach was utilized to implement a standardized operating procedure for completing medication histories in ambulatory oncology patients. Data collection included number of total medication discrepancies, percentage of patients with high-risk medications, and high-risk medication classes involved in discrepancies. Additionally, time data were collected, including time spent calling the patient, completing patient work up, and preceptor oversight. Results Students completed medication histories for 60 patients; 83% of patients had at least one discrepancy with 21% of those discrepancies involving a high-risk medication. High-risk medications involved in discrepancies included oral chemotherapeutic agents, anticoagulants, insulin, and opioids. Conclusion The majority of patients seen had at least one medication discrepancy that was identified and corrected through the medication history service. By correcting the discrepancy, the likelihood of medication errors occurring was decreased. Continuous workflow changes are being made to identify the number and type of resources to expand the service to all appropriate ambulatory oncology patients at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.