In this issue of The Imaginary Journal of Pharmacy Automation and Technology (IJPAT) we take a look at RxAdmix, a system designed to provide barcode scan verification in the IV room. Now why didn’t I think of that? Great concept when you consider the dangers associated with compounding an intravenous medication incorrectly. Doxorubicin? Daunorubicin? Eh, what’s the difference.
BPOC
Bar-code-assisted medication administration in the ED
In reference to the following article: Including emergency departments in hospitals’ bar-code-assisted medication administration. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2012; 69:1018-1019 (don’t bother trying to access the article unless you have a subscription -#fail) EDs are terrible places for medication administration because the healthcare providers are always in a hurry secondary to the nature of this … Read more
How Barcode Scanners Work [Infographic]
I’ve been meaning to put this up for a while. I thought the infographic below on How Barcode Scanners Work was awesome!
WaspBarcode.com: “In our world today, we’re accustomed to seeing barcodes, but most of us don’t have the slightest clue as to how these black and white striped graphics work, or even how they are properly read with a barcode scanner. Better yet, how can barcodes boost efficiency and productivity in small businesses? Not to worry. We’ve outlined a few barcoding basics, including how a barcode scanner works in our latest Infographic.”
Observational time-motion study comparing trational med administration to BCMA in an ICU [Article]
The article below compares medication administration between paper-based medication administration (PBMA), i.e. the traditional method and bar-code medication administration (BCMA). Unfortunately, as is the case with much of the literature in journals these days, the information is quite old. The data for this observational study was collected in two short spans in 2008 and 2009. The numbers are small, but interesting nonetheless. The results pan out as expected. Items of particular interest were that the nurses in the BCMA groupd spent more time talking to their patients compared to the PBMA groupd, but at the same time spent a heck of a lot more time on drug prep. The first item makes sense, but I’m struggling to understand the drug prep numbers.
The article can be found in the May 2012 issue of Hospital Pharmacy. It is is available for free with registration.
unSUMMIT 2011 Presentation (#unSUM11)
I uploaded the presentation I gave Thursday at the unSUMMIT in Louisville, Kentucky. You can see it below, although some of the slides came out a little rough when I uploaded it to slideshare. It looks like it may have something to do with the font I used. If I find time I’ll correct it … Read more
Preparing for the unSUMMIT (#unSUM11)
I’m sitting in a hotel bar in Louisville, Kentucky having a salad as I prepare to register for the unSUMMIT. This is the second year in a row I’ve made the trek to the unSUMMIT. I felt that the experience I had last year was definitely worth a second look. From the unSUMMIT website: Conventional … Read more
FMEA and BCMA, two acronyms that work well together
During my time as an IT pharmacist I was fortunate enough to be part of two Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) groups; one for CPOE and another for BCMA. The FMEA process is labor intensive and time consuming, but well worth the effort in my opinion. In both the CPOE and BCMA instances several … Read more
BCMA Technology: Characterization of Med Triggers and Workarounds (Article)
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
The National Drug Code (NDC) is a gremlin in the works of pharmacy
The National Drug Code, or NDC number as it’s affectionately called in pharmacy, is a set of numbers used to uniquely identify “human drugs and biologicals“. Every pharmacist is familiar with the NDC number, but if you’re not it’s basically a unique number assigned to each package of medication. It’s an 11 digit number in a 3-segment format, i.e. XXXXX-XXXX-XX.
The first segment consists of five digits and indicates the manufacturer of the drug. The second segment is four digits used to identify the medication and strength. And the final segment of two digits represents the package size.