Drug Topics - December 10, 2007 - (Page HSE16)

16 HSE DRUG TOPICS DECEMBER 10, 2007 > > > Technology Here’s a ‘smart’ way to identify IV pumps Michael Barbella ob Braverman a challenge. Earlier Lancaster BMedi-Dose Inc.,lovesPennsylvaniachallenge.this year,already usedGeneral Hospital, a 590-bed facility in Dutch Country, presented Braverman’s company, with a unique “They Medi-Dose products to label and package unit-dose drugs in their pharmacy. They said, ‘We have this need, can you help us?’” recalled Braverman, Medi-Dose president. “I was thrilled, because it was a challenge—it was a need that was brought to our attention.” What Lancaster General needed was a way to incorporate smart pumps into its bedside point-of-care (BPOC) system. The hospital wanted nurses to be able to scan patients, medicine, and the smart pump’s channel into a BPOC system that could wirelessly program the pump and streamline an otherwise complicated process. Early on in the process, however, the hospital realized that each smart pump needed its own unique bar code. “What they wanted from us was the direct opposite of what our customers usually do with our software,” said Braverman, whose company provides hospitals with a unit-dose packaging system. “Normally, our customers use our software to print many copies of the same information and bar code so they can label their unit-dose medication. For this project, Lancaster General has 900 pumps, and each pump has at least two channels. This meant that [Lancaster General] needed more than 1,800 bar codes. And they all had to be different.” Medi-Dose helped Lancaster General configure its MILT 3.0 software to create and manage the process of tagging the hospital’s smart pumps with individual bar codes. The bar codes, Braverman said, help the hospital identify its smart pumps and ensure the safe administration of medication. Besides configuring its MILT 3.0 software, MediDose designed the smart pump labels so they would fit on the device, and it put strong adhesive on the labels so they could withstand vigorous daily cleanings. Software from MediThe flexible formatting features in MILT 3.0 allow Dose connects wirenurses and pharmacists to design labels to their liking, and less smart pumps to it also has helped Lancaster General create a label that BPOC systems. contains all the necessary information. Braverman said the company also put a feature into its software that allows hospitals to produce labels with special lettering and graphics. With the upgrade, Braverman noted, hospitals such as Lancaster General can also use Medi-Dose’s packaging system to apply bar codes to any piece of equipment. “Things go in and out of a hospital all the time, be it equipment for maintenance or equipment for home use,” he said. “This is a way for [hospitals] to identify that equipment.” Lancaster General, winner of ASHP’s 2005 Best Practices Award in HealthSystem Pharmacy, has been using Medi-Dose’s packaging-system software for more than four years. The staff there uses the system to package and place bar codes on oncology, hygroscopic, powdered, antibiotic, and other medications that require special handling. DT

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Drug Topics - December 10, 2007 Latebreakers Latebreakers in Depth Letters Health-System Edition - Cover Story Clinical Practice Professional Practice Special Report Technology Community Practice Unraveling Medicare 150 Years of American Pharmacy Rx Care In the Pipeline Cover Story: Fair or foul? Self-Care Chains and Business Government and Law Continuing Education: Natural Medicines for Bone Health New Products Advertisers Index Classified Viewpoint

Drug Topics - December 10, 2007

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