Jerry Fahrni

Author: Jerry Fahrni

  • #CareFusion jumps into the IV room with new Pyxis IV system

    You can add another player to already crowded IV workflow management system space.

    I heard a rumor that CareFusion had some new technology in their booth at ASHP Midyear this year. Since I’m at ASHP Midyear I decided to wonder over there to take a look, and lo and behold they did indeed have some new stuff. One of the things that caught my eye was their new IV room system.

    The system is like many that I’ve seen, complete with camera and barcode scanning for IV medication preparation. I didn’t have much time to evaluate the system, and it’s virtually impossible to do so in the span of a short demo, but overall the Pyxis IV system hits all the major safety checkpoints for this kind of stuff.

    CareFusion is playing things pretty smart by moving into the IV room. They’re taking a broad approach to managing the entire inpatient pharmacy, i.e. they now have products that cover medication distribution from back door to the patient, including both IV and non-IV medications. Well played.

    So what’s the over-under on how long it will take Omnicell to build or buy an IV room system?

    From the CareFusion newsroom:

    While the greatest percentage of a hospital pharmacy budget is the cost of IV medication, it is estimated that fewer than 10 percent of hospitals use automation within their IV room where infused medication is compounded. The new Pyxis IV system* helps standardize the workflow in the central pharmacy IV room to securely manage a closed-loop pick, prep and check process, while driving efficiency in pharmacy activities. This standardization also helps improve the accuracy and error rate reduction of the IV compounding process, as well as free up pharmacy staff to redeploy to clinical activities. The new Pyxis IV system consists of monitors in the IV room that walk clinicians through each compounding step. The system organizes all similar orders and recommends the proper vial size to use when compounding to help minimize waste. The system also has video cameras to record compounding components to help facilitate remote checking by a pharmacist, which saves time by eliminating the need for clean room entrance and exit processes

  • Saturday morning coffee [December 7 2013]

    “There is never a better measure of what a person is than what he does when he’s absolutely free to choose.” – William M. Bulger

    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….

    LIFE: “President Franklin Roosevelt declared December 7, 1941 — when Japan launched more than 350 fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes against the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii — a “date which will live in infamy.” In fact, that Sunday morning is so seared into America’s memory that the tumult of the critical weeks and months afterward, as the U.S. responded to the attack, is often overlooked. Here, on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, LIFE.com presents photos — most of which never ran in LIFE magazine — from Hawaii and the mainland, chronicling a nation’s resolute reply to an unprecedented act of war.” – Some amazing photos here. Roosevelt’s speech can be found here. I had an opportunity to visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial a few years ago. It was an amazing experience. One that is difficult to explain, but easily understood once you’ve experience it.

    MUG_SMC
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  • Thoughts on my Black Friday Purchase, a 32GB Surface RT

    So, I picked up a 32GB Surface RT tablet on Black Friday. I didn’t set out to get one, but you know how things go. I happened to walk into a Microsoft Store down in Los Angeles while visiting with my daughter at UCLA. I couldn’t help myself. I ended up with a Surface RT tablet and a red Touch Cover. I wanted a black Type Cover, but they were completely out. However, the nice young lady in the Microsoft Store let me know that if I purchased a Type Cover I would receive a Touch Cover for free. So I paid for the Type Cover, walked out of there with a red Touch Cover and told them to let me know when my Type Cover arrived; it already has, but I haven’t picked it up yet.

    microsoft_surface_rt

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  • The Garage | Episode 3: Food, Moto X, Personal Clouds

    Robert and Jerry talk food, football, smartphones, and private clouds.

    Show notes:
    Hosts: Robert and Jerry Fahrni

    Questions, tips or recommendations for upcoming Garage topics? Find Jerry on Google+ or Twitter (@JFahrni). Find Robert on Twitter (@Fahrni) or App.Net (Fahrni).

  • Saturday morning coffee [November 23 2013]

    “Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.” ― Leo Tolstoy, A Confession

    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
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  • Thoughts on implementing #DoseEdge in an acute care pharmacy

    Over the past twelve months or so DoseEdge has become the most popular IV Room Workflow Management System on the market. Why I cannot say, but my guess would be a combination of timing – the NECC tragedy – and name recognition. If you were to ask acute care pharmacy IT folks about IV Room Workflow Management Systems I doubt many of them could name more than one or two, and of those that could, I assure you one of their answers would be DoseEdge. Pharmacy is a small world and word of mouth carries tremendous weight, and DoseEdge clearly has the advantage in that respect.

    DoseEdge System at Boston Children's Hospital
    DoseEdge System at Boston Children’s Hospital

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  • Saturday morning coffee [November 16 2013]

    “The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.” – Charles Bukowski

    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
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  • Podcast | The Garage – Episode 2

    Robert and Jerry talk about mobile development, iOS and Android, a little bit about pharmacy, and finish up with talk about wearables, mostly watches.

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  • Weighing in on gravimetrics

    I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on i.v. workflow management system. In fact, I’ve been able to spend time observing several of these systems in operation in real healthcare facilities. If you really want to see how something works in a pharmacy spend some time watching a technician work and talking to them about it. You can only learn so much from marketing material, which is, shall we say, less than completely forthcoming with information.

    Each system I’ve reviewed has fundamentally the same concept, but different approaches. One of the most distinct differences I’ve encountered is the inclusion or exclusion of gravimetric analysis during the i.v. compounding process. Some have it, some don’t.
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  • Saturday morning coffee [November 2 2013]

    “The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widely spread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.” ― Bertrand Russell, Marriage and Morals

    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….

    The coffee mug below comes straight from the corporate offices of ScriptPro in Mission, Kansas. I found myself there earlier this week. It’s an impressive place. The ScriptPro campus encompasses several city blocks housing everything from administrative personnel, to warehouses full of ScriptPro hardware, and even research and development. Most of you probably know ScriptPro as the maker of systems for outpatient pharmacy prescription filling, but that’s not all they do. I was surprised to learn that they do a lot lot more, not only in the outpatient space, but in the inpatient space as well. When I first arrived a nice young lady offered me coffee, which I gratefully accepted. During my conversation with the President and CEO of the company, Michael Coughlin, I mentioned that the coffee mug I was using reminded me of a pharmacy mortar. He said “if you like it, keep it”. Now it’s part of the Fahrni coffee mug museum.

    MUG_ScriptPro
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