Cool Pharmacy Technology – Eyecon Pill Counter

Scan the bottle Pour the tablets onto the Eyecon Pill Counter counting platter. The Eyecon Pill Counter uses “Machine vision technology” to count the tablets. Package the tablets That’s pretty simple. Sure beats the heck out of counting the tablets by hand. 5…10…15…20…. More information on the Eyecon Pill Counter can be found here.

GPhA reveals the ARI to address drug shortages

Did you know there was a Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA)? Well, if you did you’re a step ahead of me because I’d never heard of them until today. According to the GPhA website they represent "the manufacturers and distributors of finished generic pharmaceutical products, manufacturers and distributors of bulk active pharmaceutical chemicals, and suppliers of other goods and services to the generic pharmaceutical industry. GPhA members manufacture the vast majority of all affordable pharmaceuticals dispensed in the United States. Our products are used in nearly two billion prescriptions every year."

Their Board of Director’s and Executive Committee is a who’s who of generic pharmaceutical manufacturers. Go figure.

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Wanna’ tell the FDA about drug shortages? Here’s how

Here’s the contents of a email I received today from ASHP in regards to drug shortages and the FDA: The Food and Drug Administration Wants to Hear How Drug Shortages Impact Patients The Food and Drug Administration has opened a comment period to gain insight about the causes and impact of drug shortages. The agency … Read more

Fun with Lugol’s solution…not really

A recent ISMP Medication Safety Alert shared various errors that have occurred with Lugol’s solution over the ages. Lugol’s solution is a concentrated liquid form of potassium iodide and iodine known for its use in the treatment of hyperthyroidism. It’s also a dangerous drug because it’s typically dosed in drops, not mL’s. Anyway, the ISMP … Read more

Effects of interruptions in healthcare [article]

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association1 caught my eye. The article, A systematic review of the psychological literature on interruption and its patient safety implications, looks at various tasks and variables associated with interruptions in healthcare. The article is a meta-analysis, and we all know what that means, but it is interesting nonetheless. The authors of the article say that it’s a complex issue, but I think at the heart of the matter interruptions are simply bad. Our brains just don’t multi-task the way we’d like them to, and interruptions cause a break in concentration and therefore a break in our focus. I know it always takes me a few seconds to regain my thoughts when someone interrupts me. This is especially true when I’m performing a complex task. And wouldn’t you consider providing care to patients a complex task? I would.

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Secundum artem. Yeah, not so much

imageMerriam-Webster defines secundum artem as "according to the accepted practice of a profession or trade". In pharmacy it typically goes hand in hand with the preparation of extemporaneous compounds, i.e. when you have to make something from scratch. Pharmacists have been doing this since the profession began. Unfortunately it’s a dying art not only because of lack of interest from younger pharmacists, but secondary to increased regulation and bureaucratic red tape as well. It’s a real shame. To put it in perspective it would be like surgeons no longer performing surgery by hand because of the invention of the da Vinci Robot.

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ASHP Midyear 2011–Parting thoughts

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The ASHP Midyear 2011 Conference basically concluded for me today. I’d like to evaluate the meeting, but honestly have very little to say. This was my first year working in the role of Product Manager for a vendor, and not acting as an “attendee”, i.e I was here for work. The conference took on an entirely different feel this year as I wasn’t able to attend any of the sessions. For the most part I was stuck in the company booth playing the role of demo jockey. It was a strange feeling to say the least. I tried to follow the Twitter stream (#ashpmidyear) a bit, but finally relented and gave up.

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Technology in the IV room – its time has come

The cleanroom environment, a.k.a. the IV room, is one of my favorite areas inside an acute care pharmacy. It is often alive with activity, and can often be the busiest area of the pharmacy. It is also a unique place since the use of intravenous (IV) medications is vital to the successful outcomes of patients, but at the same time can result in some of the most egregious errors in healthcare. While the IV compounding process is under tight control as demanded by USP guidelines, the method of preparation and distribution is decidedly more conventional, i.e. IV rooms often rely heavily on humans. It’s an interesting dichotomy found nowhere else in the pharmacy. It is for these reasons that I find it interesting that pharmacy IV rooms have lagged behind other areas of pharmacy operations in automation and technology. However, that’s beginning to change.

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