Jerry Fahrni

Author: Jerry Fahrni

  • Quick update: Pharmacy iPad use

    I’ve been running around the pharmacy with a new iPad for the last couple of days. Actually, I’ve been handing it off to pharmacist after pharmacist for the last couple of days. After seeing the device, they all of a sudden have some interest in it. Go figure.

    My hope is to use the iPad as a tool for the pharmacists on the floor to access patient data, drug information resources, etc. The advantages of the devices are its size and weight – the iPad actually fits in the outside pocket of the pharmacists lab coat – along with its 10-plus hour battery life.
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  • The web is overflowing with iPad love and attention

    I’ve been sitting here this morning while on vacation reading over a couple of  iPad reviews (kids are still in bed from a late night at a theme park). One review is from Walt Mossberg at the Wall St Journal and the other is from David Pogue at the New York Times. I found both reviews via a GottaBeMobile post discussing the battery life on the iPad.
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  • One pharmacist’s opinion: iPhone vs. DROID

    I’ve been carrying a Motorola DROID since Verizon made it available back in November 2009. I’ve enjoyed many of its features and consider it a great mobile device. Recently I came into possession of an iPhone. I’ve wanted an iPhone for quite some time, but have been quite outspoken about not switching to AT&T because of poor coverage in our area; Central Valley of California.

    Having both devices in my possession has given me the perfect opportunity to test them head-to-head to see which setup I prefer. My original plan was to carry the iPhone exclusively for a month or so to see if I could completely replace my DROID. Unfortunately number forwarding only works with calls. Text messages would continue going to my DROID which would create a problem for me as I receive text messages several fold more than I do direct calls. So I have been carrying both devices for the past few weeks.
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  • Time to nominate someone for the ASHP PPMI Summit

    I briefly touched on the Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative (PPMI) last week. As part of the initiative ASHP will be holding a PPMI Summit in Dallas, Texas, November 7-9, 2010 where a lot of brilliant minds will come together to work towards advancing pharmacy practice.
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  • What’d I miss? – Week of March 21, 2010

    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

    While this item isn’t specifically designed for pharmacy, it is one cool piece of hardware; the POS-X PC117. The all-in-one workstation is on the list of hardware I received from Talyst as part of a new system that Kaweah Delta will be beta testing in the coming months. So, I wandered over to the Talyst customer portal where I found some additional information. I’m not positive, but it looks like this is the new workstation that the company will be using on their AutoPharm installations.

    The POS-X workstation is a big improvement over the traditional use of a monitor and standard PC tower. It’s not exactly petite, weighing in at 24 pounds, but it’s still a real space saver.
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  • Pharmacy practice model spotlight in ASHP PPMI eNewsletter

    ASHP and the ASHP Research and Education Foundation have partnered to take a long hard look at what pharmacy practice looks like now and what it needs to look like in the future. The venture is called the Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative, or PPMI. According to the ASHP PPMI website “there is an urgent need to create a forward thinking hospital and health-system pharmacy practice model.“ I couldn’t agree more.

    The current pharmacy practice model is more than 3 decades old and is sorely in need of an overhaul. Of course the changes will represent not only the services pharmacists provide and how pharmacists participate in patient care and safety, but also how to best utilize technology to accomplish the ultimate goal; a better pharmacy practice model.

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  • Quick Hit – Technology doesn’t replace critical thinking

    I’ve had a couple of eye opening conversations over the last week that have me concerned about the thought process surrounding pharmacy technology, where we’re going with it and what it’s supposed to do for us.

    Rule #1: “That’s what the computer told me to do” simply isn’t justification for doing something that makes no sense. Computers are dumb. They do what we tell them, albeit very well, but they don’t think independently from the human operating them. It’s ok to question the decision made by technology if it doesn’t make sense clinically or logically. Drug errors occur for many reasons. And as humans we make mistakes and healthcare professionals are not exempt. Technology can be used as an additional barrier between a potential mistake and the patient; however pharmacists and nurses should not decrease their vigilance at any point in the medication distribution and administration process secondary to new technology.

    Rule #2: technology implementation should not complicate your process. A complicated process is one that is destined to lead to frustration and create opportunities for mistake. Take advantage of technology to streamline a process. Create a better workflow, not a more cumbersome one.

    I think the two things mentioned above are simple common sense, but somehow they get overlooked all the time. Just a thought.

  • Cool Technology for Pharmacy

    The Pharmaceutical Authentication Sensor System, PASS Rx, by Centice is a medication verification system designed to help pharmacists avoid dispensing errors. The system uses a combination of two sensors to create a unique identification profile for oral solid medications. The first sensor utilizes Ramon Spectroscopy to calculate chemical composition while the second sensor, a “machine vision” sensor, takes images of the medication to determine size, color and shape. The information gathered from both sensors is combined to create a unique identification for the drug that can be compared against the Centice database for verification.
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  • Windows 7 install on Dell XT2 tablet PC

    Windows 7 install on Dell XT2 tablet PC

    I finally got around to installing Windows 7 Ultimate on my Dell Latitude XT2 Tablet PC. I’ve been hesitant to do it because of the well publicized issues with the Dell tablet digitizer and Windows 7. You can get the gist of the issue at GottaBeMobile.
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