Michael R. Cohen, RPh, MS is president and founder of the nonprofit Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). He serves as co-editor of the ISMP Medication Safety Alert!, a biweekly alert system sent by fax or e-mail to over 560,000 health professionals in the U.S. as well as to regulatory authorities and others in over 30 foreign countries. ISMP also publishes monthly features in medical, nursing, nurse practitioner, physician assistant and pharmacy journals and newsletters that reach an additional 2.2 million professionals.

Mr. Cohen is author of the book Medication Errors (APhA, August 1999) as well as three other books on medication safety. He serves as associate editor of the journal Hospital Pharmacy and also serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Intravenous Nurse Society, Healthcare Risk Control (ECRI, Plymouth Meeting, PA), and The Joint Commission Journal on Quality Improvement. Recently, the American
Society of Health-System Pharmacy (ASHP) announced that Mr. Cohen is the 2002 recipient of the H.A.K. Whitney Award, the highest award in health system pharmacy.

Mr. Cohen was recently appointed to the Advisory Group for Sentinel Event Alerts, for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. He is also a member of the Advisory Committee on Drug Safety and Risk Management, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Liaison Committee on Patient Safety Data Standards, Institute of Medicine, and serves on the National Quality Forum's Evidence-Based Practices Steering Committee.