Patient Safety
Today’s sterile compounding climate is a lesson on availability cascades
I’ve been slowly reading ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’, a best-selling book by Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize winning psychologist and economist known for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making. The book summarizes behavioral science research conducted by Kahneman. The recurring theme of the book is what the author defines as two modes […]
Posted in Medication Safety, Pharmacy Practice | Tagged IV ROOM, Patient Safety, Pharmacy Practice, Sterile Compounding | Permalink | Leave a response
ASHP Midyear 2018: Initial Thoughts
I recently returned from the 2018 ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting, i.e. “Midyear” in Anaheim, CA. This year was a bit different for me as it was the first time in many years that I attended the meeting as a regular pharmacist, i.e. not tied to a pharmacy automation company as an employee or as a […]
Posted in Pharmacy Practice | Tagged ASHP, IV ROOM, Patient Safety, Pharmacy Automation, Pharmacy Practice, RFID | Permalink | Leave a response
It’s time to disrupt pharmacist order verification
Several years ago there was a debate over the long-time practice of having pharmacists review all medication orders prior to administration; referred to as nearly universal prospective order review (NUPOR).(1) At the heart of the debate was whether or not such a process was still relevant in the changing face of healthcare, i.e. do pharmacist […]
Posted in Pharmacy Practice | Tagged EHR, Patient Safety, Pharmacy Practice | Permalink | 2 Responses
Saturday morning coffee [September 16 2017]
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” — Matthew 7:3 (NIV) So much happens each and every week, and it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the tabs that are open in my browser this […]
Posted in Saturday Coffee | Tagged box office, Coffee, EHR, Football, Patient Safety, Smartphone | Permalink | Leave a response
Compounding Today: state board of pharmacy concerns with USP <800>
Each Friday the CompoundingToday Newsletter faithfully appears in my inbox. The newsletter features commentary by Lloyd V. Allen, Jr., Ph.D., RPh, Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding. Dr. Allen is a legend in the pharmacy compounding world for both sterile and non-sterile products. He was someone that I looked up to during my […]
Posted in Pharmacy Practice | Tagged IV ROOM, Patient Safety, Regulation, USP 800 | Permalink | 1 Response
Automated detection of LASA medication errors
Look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) medications – also referred to as sound-alike, look-alike drugs (SALAD) (1) — have been a thorn in the side of healthcare professionals for as long as I’ve been a pharmacist. Many solutions to the LASA problem have been proposed, including Tall Man Lettering (2), physical separation of look-alike drugs, printing of both […]
Posted in Pharmacy Practice | Tagged Medication Errors, Patient Safety | Permalink | Leave a response
Thoughts on my time with DoseEdge Pharmacy Workflow Manager
Yesterday, I had a great opportunity to spend the day using DoseEdge in its native environment. That is to say, I staffed at a facility that was using DoseEdge in its cleanroom to prepare CSPs, including patient-specific products as well as stock bags, TPNs, etc. I’ve used DoseEdge for brief periods in the past. I’ve […]
Posted in Pharmacy Practice | Tagged IV ROOM, Patient Safety, Pharmacy Practice, Pharmacy Technology | Permalink | 10 Responses
ISMP releases new medication safety best practices document
I quite literally stumbled across this the other day while doing research for another project. I heard that ISMP had updated their best practices document, but didn’t see an official announcement. It’s possible I just missed it. The document contains some great new safety recommendations. All in all there are eleven best practices listed. Most […]
Posted in Medication Safety | Tagged IV ROOM, Patient Safety, Pharmacy Practice | Permalink | 1 Response