Drug Topics - January 2009 - (Page H8) HSE I Health Systems PHARMACY AUTOMATION Pennsylvania hospital automates pharmacy dispensing ALAINA SCOTT, Senior Editor E very day, more pharmacies are turning to automated solutions as they strive to decrease errors and increase the amount of time pharmacists can spend with customers. One of the latest institutions to make the move to high tech is the Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon, Pa., which recently installed a fully automated, bar-code, point-ofcare solution for dispensing medication in the pharmacy. A hospital spokeswoman said the change was made after the Food and Drug Administration identified specific errors caused by handling mistakes such as illegible handwriting or misinterpretation of instructions. The hospital hopes the new system will 722 hospitals help prevent those problems. FACT nationwide use the Under the new system, patients AcuDose-RX system. are given a unique bar code, typically on their hospital bracelet. The nurse or caregiver also has a unique orders. Even more important, the FDA bar code on his or her employee ID. has affirmed that these systems are so Medication has a bar code printed on accurate that they reduce the likelihood of medication errors, which helps us to the package. To fully automate the medication further promote patient safety.” The process began with the instalmanagement process, the hospital invested in a number of technological enhance- lation of a fully electronic, paperless ments to the pharmacy, medical informa- medical record system. The system is designed to link together the patient tion system, and patient care floors. “By investing in state-of-the-art registration, medical record, and billpharmacy technology, we improve our ing systems. Nurses at the hospital are using lapability to provide care throughout the entire health system,” said Senior Vice top computers to access the electronic President and Chief Operating Officer medical record system, which allows William Hendrick. “The new system them to retrieve and update informaallows us to become more efficient by tion in the patient’s medical records. purchasing medications in bulk and au- Once the bar-code system is fully in tomating the process of filling patient place, nurses will carry handheld scanners that can capture the same information in much less time. Network SEE INDEX PAGE 10 The next step was the installation of Health Systems the AcuDose-RX system. The system auFor more info on this topic, see www.drugtopics.com tomates the secure storage and rapid dispensing of narcotics and other frequently prescribed medications in patient-care units. Currently, 722 hospitals nationwide, 56 of them in Pennsylvania, are using the AcuDose-RX system. The system is composed of a cabinet with multiple secure drawers of numbered compartments. Nurses use a touchscreen computer and keyboard to log in and enter patient information. If it’s time for the patient to receive medication, a drawer will open and the screen will indicate the compartment that contains the proper dose. The system also enhances secure inventory management. Each time a medication is dispensed by the system, it automatically updates the count. It requires a hand-keyed inventory of any narcotics. The hospital’s staff calls the ROBOTRx the “heart” of the bar-code system. The robot is found in only one-third of medium and large hospitals nationwide. The pharmacy computer sends the robot prescriptions that have been verified by pharmacists; these prescriptions were received electronically or handkeyed from traditional handwritten slips. The robot uses a bar-code reader to scan the bar-coded peg to identify the medication and dosage it holds. Once the robot determines that the medication matches the prescription, it selects the packet and carries it to a chute, dropping it into an envelope preprinted with the patient’s name, room number, and unique bar code. The envelope is then taken by a pharmacy technician and prepared for delivery to the patient’s room. For the first 30 days, 100 percent of the prescriptions filled by the system are reviewed. After the 30-day period, and if 99.9 percent accuracy is achieved and sustained, it is randomly checked. H8 DRUG TOPICS Januar y 2009 W W W.D R U GTO P I C S .C O M COURTESY GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL http://www.drugtopics.com http://WWW.DRUGTOPICS.COM
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Drug Topics - January 2009 Drug Topics - January 2009 Contents Letters Up Front Up Front in Depth Community Practice Drug Pipeline: What to Watch in 2009 OTC Community-Aquired MRSA Infections New Products Viewpoint Drug Topics - January 2009 Drug Topics - January 2009 - Drug Topics - January 2009 (Page Cover1) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Drug Topics - January 2009 (Page Cover2) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Drug Topics - January 2009 (Page 1) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Drug Topics - January 2009 (Page 2) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Drug Topics - January 2009 (Page 3) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page 4) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page 5) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page 6) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page 7) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page 8) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page 9) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page 10) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page H1) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page H2) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page H1) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page H2) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page H3) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page H4) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page H5) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page H6) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page H7) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page H8) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Contents (Page 13) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Up Front (Page 14) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Up Front (Page 15) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Up Front (Page 16) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Up Front (Page 17) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Up Front in Depth (Page 18) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Up Front in Depth (Page 19) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community Practice (Page 20) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community Practice (Page 20a) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community Practice (Page 20b) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community Practice (Page 21) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Drug Pipeline: What to Watch in 2009 (Page 22) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Drug Pipeline: What to Watch in 2009 (Page 23) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Drug Pipeline: What to Watch in 2009 (Page 24) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Drug Pipeline: What to Watch in 2009 (Page 25) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Drug Pipeline: What to Watch in 2009 (Page 26) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Drug Pipeline: What to Watch in 2009 (Page 27) Drug Topics - January 2009 - OTC (Page 28) Drug Topics - January 2009 - OTC (Page 29) Drug Topics - January 2009 - OTC (Page 30) Drug Topics - January 2009 - OTC (Page 31) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community-Aquired MRSA Infections (Page 32) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community-Aquired MRSA Infections (Page 33) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community-Aquired MRSA Infections (Page 34) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community-Aquired MRSA Infections (Page 35) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community-Aquired MRSA Infections (Page 36) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community-Aquired MRSA Infections (Page 37) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community-Aquired MRSA Infections (Page 38) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community-Aquired MRSA Infections (Page 39) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community-Aquired MRSA Infections (Page 40) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Community-Aquired MRSA Infections (Page 41) Drug Topics - January 2009 - New Products (Page 42) Drug Topics - January 2009 - New Products (Page 43) Drug Topics - January 2009 - New Products (Page 44) Drug Topics - January 2009 - New Products (Page 45) Drug Topics - January 2009 - New Products (Page 46) Drug Topics - January 2009 - New Products (Page 47) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Viewpoint (Page 48) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Viewpoint (Page Cover3) Drug Topics - January 2009 - Viewpoint (Page Cover4)
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