The first, and most interesting, session I attended today was “Integrating Technology to Improve Medication-Use Patient Safetyâ€. The session was sponsored by Hospira and consisted of three separate speakers covering areas of the medication–use process where breakdowns typically occur. The focus was on closed-loop medication administration. I’m sure there are different opinions on what closed-loop medication administration is, but for our purposes it consists of orders from the time written until the medication is administered to the patient. Many technologies were discussed, including computerized provider order entry (CPOE), bar code medication administration (BCMA), intelligent infusion devices (IIDs), and electronic medication records (EMRs) among others.
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Author: Jerry Fahrni
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Talyst User Group – ASHP #Midyear2009
Tonight’s ASHP activity consisted of attending the Talyst User Group. It was a pretty big turnout, probably three times the size of the one I attended in Chicago in June.
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ASHP Midyear 2009 – “The Plan”
I’m sitting in the airport waiting for my plane to board and getting my agenda together. Below is my plan of attack for my time in Vegas. Of course it’s all just speculation at this point as I have an affinity to stray from my plans based on what I find interesting. I also need to find some time for the exhibit hall, where I will undoubtedly waste countless hours wondering around checking out all the cool technology.
Sunday
– Talyst User Group, 2:00 – 5:00 PMMonday
– IV Sedation in the Intensive Care Unit: Applying Pharmacoeconomic Principles, 6:15-7:45 AM
– Opening Session, 9:00-10:30 AM
– Integrating Tech to Improve Medication-Use and Patient Safety, 11:30AM – 1:30 PM
– Does the Shoe Fit? Selecting Robotic IV Technology for Pediatric Sites, 2:00-5:00 PM
– Section Advisory Group on Ambulatory Care Informatics Networking Session, 5:15-6:15 PM
– Pharmacy OneSource Happy Hour, 5:30-7:00 PMTuesday
– BCMA: Inpatient & Outpatient Trends, Metrics, and Innovations, 8:00-9:30 AM
– On the Bleeding Edge of Technology: Overcoming Implementation Challenges with Informatics, 10:00-11:00 AM
– Section Advisory Group on Pharmacy Operations Automation Networking Session, 11:15 AM – 12:30 PMHere’s where it get fuzzy. There are 4 sessions in the 2:00-5:00PM slot that I want to attend; not sure what I’m going to do just yet.
– Redefining the Practice Model: Where Have We Been, Where Do We Go? 2:00-5:00PM
– Rule of Thumb: A Look at Positive ID, Secondary Authentication, and Health IT Regulation, 2:00-4:00 PM
– Powerful Impact of Human Factors Engineering on Medication Safety, 2:30-4:00 PM
– More Than a Vending Machine: Effectively Planning and Implementing Carousel/Packager Technology, 4:00-5:00 PMWednesday
– Pharmacy 2.0: How the Web is Changing How We Practice, 8:00-9:45 AM
– Section Advisory Group on Pharmacy Informatics Education Networking Sessions, 11:15 AM – 12:30 PM
– Informatics Bytes 2009: Pearls of Informatics, 2:00-5:00 PMUnfortunately I return home on Wednesday night, which means I will miss the following sessions that I would like to attend, especially the first one listed.
Thursday
– Does Current Technology/Automation Need to Change to Advance Pharmacy Technician Dispensing? 9:30 AM -12 NOON
– Strategies for Successfully Implementing ADMs and CPOE into the Medication Management System, 2:00-4:00 PM -
“What’d I miss?” – Week of November 29th
As usual there were a lot of things that happened during the week, and not all of it was pharmacy or technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I found interesting.
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Cool Technology for Pharmacy
Entering and making pediatric drips for pharmacists working in an adult hospital can be a real sphincter tightener. Pharmacists that aren’t accustomed to working with pediatric patients feel a little bit uneasy when an order shows up for a customized dopamine, dobutamine, etc. I remember working in a pediatric facility where we did this kind of thing all the time and no one gave it a second thought. We used a combination of two standardized concentrations, hi and low, for each commonly ordered drip. For code blue situations we often used the “Rule of 6’sâ€, which is now discouraged by the Joint Commission.
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Verizon, you gotta love ’em
eWeek: “Not only did it recently experience a win over disgruntled competitor AT&T, in being allowed to continue airing some cheeky ads, and then enjoy a jump in consumer opinion, but in a Dec. 1 statement, Consumer Reports revealed that Verizon was named the preferred carrier by the people it surveyed in 26 cities for its cell-phone-focused January issue.” – T-Mobile was second, while Sprint and AT&T tied for third. This is consistent with what I’ve heard around the hospital. I was previously assigned a Verizon mobile broadband card. Unfortunately our facility decided to move away from Verizon a couple of weeks ago and go with AT&T and Sprint. I am now using a Sprint 598U Wireless USB Plug and the performance and connectivity are terrible. While in Vegas last week I was unable to connect to the hospital VPN secondary to poor coverage and lack of speed. I couldn’t even check my email. I ended up using the browser on my Droid. My Verizon card never gave me any problems, ever. I spoke with a nurse today in our IT department who was assigned an AT&T mobile broadband card after previously using one from Verizon. Her story was similar to mine; bummer. It looks like I really need to set up my Droid to tether.
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Quick Hit – “I don’t see the iconâ€
Several times on this blog I have discussed the need to advance pharmacy through the use of new and exciting technologies. Yesterday I experienced something that brings light to the reason pharmacy practice is still in the Stone Age, where it may live forever.We had a minor pharmacy system upgrade yesterday. The system was down for about 45 minutes. Although minor, the upgrade required the removal of the previous version of the pharmacy software prior to installing the new version. Overall the process went smoothly. However, within a few minutes of giving the pharmacists the all clear I began receiving phone call after phone call because the upgrade “didn’t work†and they couldn’t “get into Siemensâ€. The problem: the install client failed to put the shortcut icon for the pharmacy system on their desktop. Seriously, that’s the problem? Wow!
The “problem†brought the pharmacy to a standstill. So, the next time you talk about carousel technology, automated packaging, or clinical decision support software, remember that many pharmacists still struggle with using a computer; a device that is common in nearly every household in America.
I bet Steve Jobs doesn’t have these problems. ;-)
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The tech-check-tech model to improve clinical practice
Earlier this year the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy published “A vision statement by the ASHP Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technologyâ€. The statement represents thoughts on the current state of pharmacy practice and contains a healthy dose of ideas on how technology can help support and improve pharmacy practice.
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“What’d I miss?” – Week of November 22nd
Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of “What’d I Miss?”. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time that marks the beginning of my favorite time of the year. It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump until the New Year. Â Squeeze Christmas in there and you have the best 6 week span of the year. Good times, good times.As usual there were a lot of things that happened during the week, and not all of it was pharmacy or technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I found interesting.
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A little multi-touch technology in Las Vegas
My family and I just returned from a few days in Las Vegas for a little rest and relaxation. During our visit, we had dinner at the new Hard Rock Café on the Strip. This particular Hard Rock features an interactive Microsoft Surface wall on the second floor as well as Surface screens at each booth in the dinning area and a couple of Surface tables near the wall. Of course my daughters and I spent quite a bit of time playing with the Surface wall and the Surface screen in the booth we were seated at for dinner. Well, I should say my daughters had an opportunity to play with the Surface screen at our table. I couldn’t get within a foot of it because they were having such a blast with it.Â
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