Month: October 2013

IT pharmacists need more practical pharmacy experience

I’ve laid out my pharmacy career on this site many times in the past. In a nutshell I’ve been a pharmacist for about 16 years. The first 10 years was a mix of “clinical pharmacy” and operations. The last 6 have been spent on the technology side of things; IT pharmacist for about 3 years followed by approximately 3 years with a pharmacy technology vendor.

I will state this as clearly as possible: the time I spent as a clinician combined with my time in operations made me a better IT pharmacist.

Continue reading IT pharmacists need more practical pharmacy experience

Saturday morning coffee [October 26 2013]

“I am absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can help humanity forward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in this cause. The example of great and pure characters is the only thing that can produce fine ideas and noble deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and always tempts its owners irresistibly to abuse it. Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus, or Gandhi armed with the money-bags of Carnegie?” – Albert Einstein

So much happens each and every week that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the tabs that are open in my browser this morning along with some random thoughts….

MUG_SMC
Continue reading Saturday morning coffee [October 26 2013]

Podcast | The Garage – Episode 1

Welcome to The Garage, a podcast of me and my brother talking about various things.  We have great conversations and have talked about recording them for years. We finally decided to do it.

In Episode 1 of The Garage we talk about smartphones, cloud storage, Office 365, a bit about healthcare, tablets – mostly the new iPad Air and iPad Mini – the use of RSS, and data consumption. In other words, we’re all over the board.

Forgive my heavy nose breathing as I had no idea that I sounded like a bull snorting before a charge. I’ll work on that.
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Quick Hit: The unspoken contributor to drug shortages, strategic overstock

The other day I discovered a new term being thrown around in pharmacy circles, and that term is “strategic overstock”. The best way to describe strategic overstock is to call it what it is, i.e. hoarding. Of course healthcare systems don’t want you to call it hoarding because that would be considered inappropriate so they created a term that makes people think they’re doing something positive; marketing spin, if you will.

Continue reading Quick Hit: The unspoken contributor to drug shortages, strategic overstock

What are you looking for in a “workflow management system” for the IV room?

A recent “I’ve been thinking…” by Mark Neuenschwander got me thinking; no pun intended. Mark and I have been working on a barcode medication preparation (BCMP) project for the last couple of months. My interest in pharmacy automation and technology coupled with his passion for barcoding in healthcare and patient safety have created a good working relationship. We’re currently looking at the state of BCMP as it relates to compounding in the IV room.
Continue reading What are you looking for in a “workflow management system” for the IV room?

Saturday morning coffee [October 12 2013]

“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” – Plato

So much happens each and every week that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the tabs that are open in my browser this morning along with some random thoughts….

MUG_SMC
Continue reading Saturday morning coffee [October 12 2013]

Quick Hit: Thoughts on NEPS labeling solution for pharmacy

I wrote about the NEPS labeling solution for pharmacy way back in May of 2009. The product basically extends the functionality of the pharmacy information system by giving users the ability to print custom labels for medications through the use of different fonts, colors, and images. It’s well thought of in certain pharmacy circles. In the hands of the right people NEPS can be an effective way to create some pretty cool labels. In the hands of others it’s a good way to create confusion.
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Saturday morning coffee [October 5 2013]

“Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.” – Arthur Schopenhauer

So much happens each and every week that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the tabs that are open in my browser this morning along with some random thoughts….

MUG_SMC
Continue reading Saturday morning coffee [October 5 2013]