Being a pharmacist is my first career, but one of many jobs over my lifetime. I was a little late to the party as I spent some time doing other things before jetting off to pharmacy school. One of the things I enjoyed about pharmacy school was the comradery that quickly developed between the students. There were several of us that spent time together learning, studying and becoming better. Our collective minds were simply better than any of us on our own.
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Category: Uncategorized
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What to do, the case of the unhappy pharmacist
I read an article today at the CEO Blog of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) that talks about the predicament of the retail/community pharmacist.
According to the post “Pharmacists feel it when they’re asked to fill hundreds of prescriptions per shift, provide immunizations on demand, make outbound calls to promote adherence with patients and to do so with less technician help because management just saw another big contract pricing level get cut. And pharmacists are feeling less respected as the supply of pharmacists has increased and employers find positions are easier to fill.â€
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What defines a good pharmacy practice model?
I received an email today from the ASHP PPMI group asking me to take their pre-summit survey. I did, and you should too if you care about the future of pharmacy practice. In addition to the request for survey participation the email included a link to the PPMI practice spotlight, which just so happened to feature Children’s Hospital Central California (CHCC) where I spent a few years working in their pediatric ICU.
The spotlight article talks about CHCC’s use of decentralized pharmacists as well as judicious use of automation and technology. While working for CHCC I never stopped to considered whether the practice model we were using was advanced or not. It was simply the model we were using at the time. It occurred to me that most people probably don’t see their practice sites as advanced because everything in front of them appears “normalâ€.
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Happy 4th of July
Ah, the 4th of July. Independence Day. The day in 1776 when the Continental Congress gave Great Britain the finger and declared that the thirteen American colonies were no longer a part of the British Empire. America was born.“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.â€
Well said. In addition, the 4th of July is a time for celebration with family and friends to include eating lots of BBQ, ice cream, potato salad and so on. It’s also a time to enjoy the beauty of fireworks lighting up the night.
Have fun everyone and try not to get carried away. On second thought, don’t worry about getting carried away. Just have fun and be safe.
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Top blog posts and searches from last week (26)
I always find it interesting to see what brings people to my website and what they decided to read once they get here.
Most read posts over the past 7 days:
- An almost disastrous bar-coding mishap – I said almost a disastrous mishap people, almost. Bloodthirsty savages.
- Quick Hit – Mobile devices in our pharmacy – This post elicited a couple of interesting comments.
- Best iPhone / iPod Touch Applications for Pharmacists
- Cool Technology for Pharmacy – This was before I started putting the name of the cool technology in the blog title. This particular post was from June 18, 2009 and covered Alaris Smartpumps.
- Cool Technology for Pharmacy – Another post from before I started putting the name of the cool technology in the blog title. This particular post was from September 10, 2009 and covered the capsule machine. I wonder what brought on the interest?
- Medscape Mobile for the BlackBerry – Still going strong.
- Pediatric labels for bar code medications – I need to update this post. We’ve come along way since then.
- We need a better system for medication reconciliation
- Cool Technology for Pharmacy – Another post from before I started putting the name of the cool technology in the blog title. This particular post was from August 6, 2009 and talked about ROBOT-Rx from McKesson.
- Motion J3500 gets a wicked update – The Motion J3500 is a very nice machine. We use the J3400 in our pharmacy and I like it a lot. The more I use it the better it becomes.
Top searchterm phrases used over the past 7 days:
- “cloud computingâ€
- “black cloud†– What do you think people are looking for when they search for “black cloud”?
- “ rfid for outpatient medication reconciliationâ€
- “xt2“
- “alaris iv pump“
- “mckesson robot rx“
- “www.pharmacyideas.com“
- “alaris pump“
- “alaris“
- “mak and medication administration” – MAK is the branded name for Siemens BCMA system.
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Top blog posts and searches from last week (25)
I always find it interesting to see what brings people to my website and what they decided to read once they get here.
Most read posts over the past 7 days:
- Cool Technology for Pharmacy – RxVerify – RxVerify is a neat piece of software that fits a nice little niche.
- Cool Technology for Pharmacy – This was before I started putting the name of the cool technology in the blog title. This particular post was from June 18, 2009 and covered Alaris Smartpumps.
- Best iPhone / iPod Touch Applications for Pharmacists – As I’ve said before, just throw any Apple product in the post and it’s bound to get some hits.
- Cool Technology for Pharmacy – Another post from before I started putting the name of the cool technology in the blog title. This particular post was from September 10, 2009 and covered the capsule machine.
- Medscape Mobile for the BlackBerry – Looks like interest in Medscape Mobile for the BlackBerry devices is starting to slip. Still, it’s amazing that this post stays on the list.
- Cool Technology for Pharmacy – Practice Fusion EMR – Great piece of software.
- Curriculum Vitae
- Bar-code musings
- Quick update: Pharmacy iPad use – What the heck is an iPad, anyway?
- Scanning difficulties with certain barcodes – I received some great feedback on this information
Top searchterm phrases used over the past 7 days:
- “alaris pump“
- “transparency” – Interesting, I’ve never talked about transparency in healthcare.
- “jerry fahrni“
- “black cloudâ€
- “cloud computing cartoonâ€
- “fenton capsule“
- “alaris iv pump“
- “bcma and iv interoperability“
- “va hospital with rfid scanner“
- “ipad pharmacy applications“
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Top blog posts and searches from last week (24)
I always find it interesting to see what brings someone to my website and what they decided to read once they get here.
Most read posts over the past 7 days:
- Medscape Mobile for the BlackBerry – Still rolling along after several weeks at the top. The BlackBerry is a long way from being dead.
- Participation in the ASHP Summer Meeting from afar #ashpsm10 – I would like to see ASHP adopt some form of live webcast during their large annual meeting like the Summer Meeting and Midyear. I don’t see a downside.
- Scanning difficulties with certain barcodes
- Cool Technology for Pharmacy – Practice Fusion EMR – Great piece of software.
- A recent trifecta for bar-coding
- Best iPhone / iPod Touch Applications for Pharmacists – Just throw any Apple product in the mix and it’s bound to make the list.
- Quick update: Pharmacy iPad use – See #6 comment
- Cool Technology for Pharmacy – This was before I started putting the name of the cool technology in the blog title. This particular post was from Jun 18, 2009 and covered Alaris Smartpumps.
- Curriculum Vitae
- Musings on the “cloud”
Top searchterm phrases used over the past 7 days:
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Tools of the trade
I try to keep my weekend posts light, and today is no different. As I sit here waiting for the rest of the Fahrni crew to come to life I ran across a tweet from Garry Sykes that simply said “tool of the trade….very occasionally!” Following the link in the tweet takes you to a photo of a mortar and pestle.
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Top blog posts and searches from last week
I always find it interesting to see what brings someone to my website and what they decided to read once they get here. Most of the time it isn’t pharmacy related at all. Funny how that works.
Most read posts over last week:
- Medscape Mobile for the BlackBerry – This has appeared at or near the top for the past couple of weeks. It’s a testament to how many healthcare professionals are still carrying BlackBerry devices.
- iPad + ClamCase = awesomeness? – This is funny. All I have to do is put the word “iPad” anywhere in a post and people flock to it.
- CPOE – Giving it some thought – CPOE is gaining some traction for sure.
- Cool Technology for Pharmacy – LXE Bluetooth Ring Scanner – I sat on this one for quite a while. Couldn’t decide if I wanted to blog about it or not.
- RxCalc 1.1 now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch – Similar to “iPad”. Put the word “iPhone” somewhere in the post and people will find it.
- “What’d I miss?” – Week of May 23, 2010
- Cool Technology for Pharmacy – This was before I started putting the name of the cool technology in the blog title. This particular post was from Jun 18, 2009 and covered Alaris Smartpumps.
- Best iPhone / iPod Touch Applications for Pharmacists – Ibid, iPhone & iPad. It’s been a while. I should really update this information.
- Curriculum Vitae – I see this show up high up on the list occasionally. I believe young pharmacists are looking for an example of how to compose a CV. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to write one; still don’t know if I have it right. I can never figure out how much information to include or what should be excluded.
- “What’d I miss?” – Week of May 17,2010
Top searchterm phrases for last week
- “medscape.com/blackberry”
- “autopharm”
- “alaris”
- “jerry fahrni”
- “black cloud”
- “cloud computing”
- +”magnetic resonance imaging” + “cool image”
- “alaris infusion pump”
- “dell xt”
- “carousel for meds” tied with “medscape mobile”
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What’s the value of a healthcare conference?
First things first, a little back ground is in order. Most people probably don’t realize that hospital pharmacists aren’t allowed out much. This is especially true when it comes to sending pharmacists to conferences. It’s expensive and often creates a hole in the work schedule. In my experience the general rule of thumb is that hospitals will pay for a pharmacist to attend one out of state conference every other year. The nearly universal exception has been when a pharmacist is presenting a poster or giving a formal presentation, and then most facilities are willing to spring for the pharmacist to attend.
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