BCMA

Socket announces latest Bluetooth barcode scanner

by

mobihealthnews: “Socket Mobile announced this week the availability of its latest Socket Bluetooth Cordless Hand Scanner (CHS) Series 7, a barcode scanner with medical applications which has been Apple-certified as a “Made for iPad, iPhone, iPod” accessory. “This is the best performing barcode scanner for developers who are creating applications incorporating barcode scanning for the … Read more

The weakest link in building a safer medication use model

by

I’ve just spent four days at the ASHP Summer Meeting in Denver, CO. The meeting offered a nice variety of topics, but seemed to focus on medication safety and informatics more this year than in the past. In fact, this is the first year that ASHP has offered a medication safety tract at one of their meetings.

I avoided the more traditional sessions on therapeutics, choosing instead to focus on the informatics and medication safety sessions. Based on the information presented it was obvious to me that these two disciplines are intimately linked. After all, the idea behind much of the technology we use in healthcare today is to improve patient safety.

Read more

Smart Pump integration with EHR and auto-programming [Video]

by

The integration of smart pumps with an EHRs, and the use of auto-programming isn’t common place in healthcare, but it should be. I’ve only come across a couple of facilities that have done it “successfully”. In addition I’ve heard a couple of presentations on the subject matter; one at ASHP a couple of years ago … Read more

Data visualization and dashboards

by

A wise colleague of mine once told me that lots of people collect data, but few people know what to do with it. I didn’t understand what he was talking about at the time, but I’ve come to have a better understanding over the years. It basically boils down to the difficulty that many of us experience when it comes to the best way to handle information. Our brains do some amazing things, but fail to “see” things when the perspective is all wrong.

Data surrounds us. It’s in everything we do, from the bank statements we receive in our personal life to the mountains of data collected by every healthcare institution. Regardless of the data collected, there are basically three things that can be done with it. Data can be ignored, it can be archived or it can be used. Unfortunately only one of those three things is truly useful; using it. Many people chose to ignore or archive data not because the information isn’t valuable, but because they are overwhelmed with the amount of information they receive and the way that the information is presented.

Read more

Cool Pharmacy Technology – Codonics SLS Safe Label System

by

Labeling syringes has always been difficult for anesthesiologists in the OR. It must be because they never seem to get it right. If you don’t believe me, just look at the image below. These drugs were found during routine inspection of an OR suite. Well that’s all changed now with the Codonics SLS Safe Label System.

Read more

BCMA Technology: Characterization of Med Triggers and Workarounds (Article)

by

There’s an interesting article in the February 2011 issue of The Annals of Pharmacotherapy dealing with BCMA and what the author describes as “clinical workarounds”.1 Abstract BACKGROUND: Bar code medication administration (BCMA) technology is gaining acceptance for its ability to prevent medication administration errors. However, studies suggest that improper use of BCMA technology can yield … Read more