Jerry Fahrni

Author: Jerry Fahrni

  • Cool Technology for Pharmacy

    xcelerdose600The Xcelodose 600 S System , manufactured by Capsugel, a division of Pfizer, is a precision powder micro-doser and automated encapsulator designed for pharmaceutical research and development. The system has the ability to fill formulations or active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) directly into capsules with a remarkable level of accuracy. The Xcelodose can weigh doses as low as 100 micrograms from a variety of powders, including free flowing, sticky, granular and blended. In addition, the Xcelodose can dispense API in capsule sizes ranging from 00 to 4.

    Simply poor the ingredients into the hopper, select the proper capsule size and hit the “go” button. Nothing could be simpler. The Xcelodose 600 can generate up to 600 capsules per hour while keeping detailed records of individual, as well as batch, capsule weight. Capsules not meeting strict control standards, typically 2% tolerance, are automatically jettisoned by the machine. By encapsulating API directly into capsules without the need for excipients, the Xcelodose System can reduce the amount of ingredient required and reduce overall development time by simplifying the process.

    The entire process is controlled via a computer terminal with a graphical user interface written in Visual Basic. While not designed for individual pharmacy use, it’s still one heck of a machine.

  • Using bar codes and a cell phone camera to avoid food allergies

    scanavert_beta

    ScanAvert is an application that uses the camera on your cell phone to read product bar codes and compare the ingredients to a personalized allergy list on the company website. The product was launched at the Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco this week and is apparently still in the beta phase.

    Consumers register for the service at our website, creating a profile from the allergy, prescription, dietary requirement/restriction, and illness categories. They may also establish limits on any of the nutritional values, e.g., carbohydrates, calories. In store aisles, customers scan product barcodes, with their auto focus camera phones, to receive instant feedback as to product compatibility/incompatibility and suggested compatible substitutes.

    Our technology will enable shoppers to determine that the products they are purchasing for themselves and their families are compatible with their allergic, prescription, or dietary profiles, e.g., void of peanuts, or, do not contain gluten, an ingredient considered harmful to an individual with Celiac Disease.

    The value proposition of ScanAvert is its simplicity and ease of use for the numerous and varied demographic populations that will reap its benefits. For the supermarket, restaurant chain, or food service vendor, it is a unique way to distinguish itself from competition and to provide a new and valuable service for a significant portion of their customer base.

    ScanAvert uses First DataBank, a well respected drug information source, to check for information on incompatibilities between prescription drugs and substances found in grocery products. This would be a great application for those with food related allergies.

  • Using a “micro shuttle” to control drug delivery

    microshuttle_in_cellQueen Mary University of London: “The capsules, which have a diameter of two micrometers (about the size of a bacterium), are built by wrapping strands of a metabolism-resistant material around spherical particles, which are then dissolved in acid, leaving behind an empty container. To fill the capsules, the scientists heat them in a solution that contains the desired drug compound. This makes them shrink and traps some of the solution and compound inside. The loaded capsules are introduced into live cells by a technique known as electroporation – a tiny electric shock – which makes the cell walls permeable for micrometer-sized particles. The cells are unharmed by this treatment and retain the capsules.” – The article refers to the capsules as “micro shuttles” and states that the release of medication could also be controlled “by a biological trigger like a drop in blood sugar levels, or activated manually with a pulse of light.” – I worked on something similar as an undergrad. We applied various currents to polyaniline, forcing the polymer to take up and hold certain molecules. Reversing the current resulted in the polyaniline dropping the substance. Crazy technology! It makes me want to get into R&D.

  • LIJ Health System to subsidize EMR deployment in New York

    InformationWeek Healthcare: “The rollout is believed to be the nation’s largest EMR deployment to date, said North Shore LIJ CIO John Bosco. The health system serves five million people in the New York metro area, operating 14 hospitals, 18 long-term care facilities, five home-health agencies, dozens of outpatient centers, and a hospice network. Under the North Shore LIJ Electronic Health Record initiative, 1,200 staff physicians and 5,800 affiliated physicians will be offered subsidized EMR systems. EMR software will be provided by Allscripts and hosted using a cloud-based model by an unnamed Allscripts partner, Bosco said.” – The article goes on to say that North Shore LIJ will subsidize approximately 85% of the cost and allow physicians to keep any reimbursement earned under the ARRA. I’d say that is a pretty smart move on the part of LIJ. After all, getting physicians to use new technology is a difficult process. With this offer LIJ will get EMR use entrenched in the minds of approximately 7000 physicians in the New York area. It will be very interesting to see how things go over the next 5 years.

  • Google showing a little bar code love this morning

    My browser homepage is set to Google. Imagine my surprise this morning when I saw the Google homepage was sporting a bar code in place of the typical “Google”. Cool!

    googleBC1

  • Thoughts on creating a BCMA cross reference file

    zebra_barcode2Our facility is gearing up to implement bar code medication administration (BCMA) in February 2010. Part of getting ready is making sure that all the medications dispensed from the pharmacy are bar code ready. If the medication isn’t bar coded or won’t scan, then it won’t do the nurse much good at the bedside. We’re in pretty good shape secondary to our carousel install in February of 2008. Everything that gets stored in the carousel is already bar coded. I had hoped that the file stored in our AutoPharm, i.e. carousel, cross reference file could simply be dropped into our Siemens Pharmacy cross reference file, but that would have been too easy. Siemens refused to play nicely with the data.
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  • “What’d I miss?” – Week of September 27th

    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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  • Getting pharmacists to lay down their 3×5 cards

    The decentralized pharmacy model brings with it the opportunity for pharmacists to be an integral part of the medical team. This includes following teams of healthcare provides, physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, etc, on morning rounds. And like all good little pharmacists we like to be prepared with as much information as possible about the patient. Several methods for collecting data have been developed over the years, including the all time favorite; the 3×5 index card. The problem with this system is obvious; it’s prone to human error. Taking information from one source and transcribing it somewhere else simply increases the chance for error. In addition, the information may be inaccurate as things can change rapidly with hospitalized patients, especially in areas like the ICU.
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  • Pocket anatomy app for the iPhone

    medgadget: “eMedia Interactive Ltd. out of Galway, Ireland has released an iPhone app to help learn the anatomy of the heart. Using the Pocket Heart app, one can browse the organ in three dimensions using zoom and rotate features, identify individual components, and take quizzes to test one’s knowledge. This simulator might also be helpful to medical students, residents and clinicians learning to perform echocardiography, by allowing to correlate echo images to the anatomy. So grab the Pocket Heart and head to our own EchoJournal to learn more about cardiac echoes.” – Pocket Heart is a nifty little application. Go check out the website and run through the demo.

  • Musings on the “cloud”

    cloud_cartoonI tend to read a lot about cloud computing in my spare time. It’s an interesting topic and there’s no shortage of reading material as it is a very hot topic in many circles. I still find it strange that the definition of cloud computing continues to expand at a time when it should be contracting. I’m a firm believer that the technology is available, but vendors are hesitant to take advantage of it for various reasons; cost, fear of change, security, etc. Anyway, here are some of things that crossed my path over the past several days that I think fall into the “cloud” category.
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