The current pharmacy practice model utilizes pharmacists to check everything that leaves the pharmacy. Right or wrong that’s the way it is. I don’t think it’s necessary, but I’m not the guy in charge of such things.
Pharmacy has tools to help get pharmacists out of the physical pharmacy, namely tech-check-tech and remote order verification, but I don’t see such things used with consistency. My position on tech-check-tech is well documented; it’s underutilized. Using technicians “at the top of their license” would go a long way in freeing up pharmacists to do other things. The problem at the moment is that many pharmacists don’t want to relinquish the “final check” responsibilities. It’s silly, but true.
Remote order verification is a concept that hasn’t taken off like I thought it would. The concept is really simple: use telepharmacy technology to allow pharmacists to review medications pulled or compounded by technicians. The pharmacist could be anywhere. And with the continued advancement of camera technologies and the explosion of tablet use in healthcare it’s a no-brainer. No longer do pharmacists have to be in the pharmacy  to check an order, nor do they need to have an advanced PC workstation. An iPad, Android tablet, or even Surface tablet would work just fine. If radiologists can use these tablets to view imaging results I’m sure a pharmacist can see that a technician pulled the correct item off a shelf.
I think remote checking would have the biggest impact in the cleanroom environment. It doesn’t make sense to have a pharmacist gowned up in the IV room every minute of the day, especially if they’re only in there to check IV compounds. Workflow software and telepharmacy can take care of that.
I remember when I was working in an ICU satellite. It was just me and a technician named Tim. Tim was the best pharmacy technician I had ever worked with and I let him run the pharmacy satellite operations. I spent my time in the ICU rounding with the medical team, reviewing charts and interacting with the nurses. Tim would make the IV batches and I’d return to the satellite throughout the day to check the batch. When Tim received a STAT order for a IV – pressor, antibiotic, insulin infusion, etc – he’d page me back to the satellite. The IV would be sitting there waiting for my signature. I’d sign it and walk it out to the unit, or if I was rounding in another area Tim would deliver the IV to the bedside himself. Having a remote checking option in those situations would have been convenient. I’d likely already be using a tablet, so when Tim had a STAT IV I’d get an alert on my screen, review the images, give it a thumbs up and truck on. It would be even cooler if you could do something like this with a HUD, a.k.a. Google Glass.
Just thinking out loud here people. Make use of the technology that’s at your fingertips. None of this is futuristic. It’s all here right now and just begging to be integrated into your workflow.
Leave a Reply