Pharmacy Automation

ASHP Midyear 2015 Technology Summary

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This year’s ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting was held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 6 through December 10, 2015.  For many, the Midyear Meeting is about the latest in clinical advances, but for me, it’s an opportunity to see all the new pharmacy automation and technology. And the … Read more

JerryFahrni.com Podcast #3: Semi-automated IV Workflow Management Systems

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Show Notes: Host: Jerry Fahnri New Equipment: Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone – Blackout Edition Dragonpad Pop Filter IVWFM systems discussed: APOTECAps1 BD Cato DoseEdge EPIC Dispense Prep2 i.v.SOFT IVTrac1 Meditech1,2 PharmQ-ITH – No longer available. IP sold to BD Phocus Rx PyxisPrep – No longer available. Killed following acquisition by BD RxADMIX1 ScriptPro Verification … Read more

More thoughts on the ASHP national survey results for informatics and pharmacy practice

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On Monday I spoke briefly about two articles in AJHP that summarize two recent ASHP surveys. The first covers Pharmaccy Informatics in U.S. Hospitals(1), while the second focuses on pharmacy practice in acute care hospitals(2).

Both surveys contain a wealth of information, and provide a snapshot of what pharmacies in the U.S. are doing. While conducted at different times by different groups, I think it’s more interesting to look at the two surveys together. As I mentioned in my podcast, the adoption of automation and technology goes hand in hand with pharmacy operations. You can no longer have one without the other.

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JerryFahrni.com Podcast #1: ASHP National Survey Results

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Show notes: Host: Jerry Fahrni The two surveys discussed in the podcast are below: Fox, B. I., C. A. Pedersen, and K. F. Gumpper. “ASHP National Survey on Informatics: Assessment of the Adoption and Use of Pharmacy Informatics in U.S. Hospitals–2013.” American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy 72, no. 8 (April 15, 2015): 636–55. doi:10.2146/ajhp140274. Pedersen, … Read more

Aethon launches TraySafe at #ASHPSM15 in Denver

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I’ve been at the ASHP Summer Meeting in Denver this week roaming the exhibit hall looking for interesting new products. One product that caught my attention was TraySafe by Aethon.

TraySafe is a medication tray management system. There are several such systems currently on the market, but what makes TraySafe different is its approach to the replenishment process. The system utilizes a combination of photo recognition and barcode scanning to analyze tray content and notify the user of items that are missing, in the wrong location, or about to expire.

TraySafe1

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5 years later, my thoughts on pharmacy practice

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I haven’t been a practicing pharmacist in the traditional sense in about five years. I’ve spent the last 19 months as an independent consultant, which has been awesome. Prior to that I was a Product Manager for about two and a half years at a company that dealt in pharmacy automation and technology. Before that I was an IT Pharmacist, which did give me an occasional glimpse of “pharmacy practice”, but overall I figure it’s been at least 5 years since I worked at earnest as a staff pharmacist.

Recently I took a per diem position in a large acute care hospital as a staff pharmacist. I’m completely content being a consultant, and have enjoyed it very much, but I felt that I was losing touch with the daily grind that is pharmacy. I needed to get my hands dirty again and make sure that I wasn’t giving advice to people that was out of touch with reality. I think it’s important for any consultant to be able to relate to the actual problems that they’re being asked to solve. So for the past few months I’ve been staffing about a day a week. Below are some thoughts on what I’ve seen and heard.

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More from #ASHP Midyear

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Yesterday was more of the same, i.e. I spent several hours in the exhibit hall yesterday trying to make my way through my “game plan”. And again I failed to complete my mission. I spent a lot of time speaking to various people about some of the things I saw on Monday.

Some of my stops and thoughts from yesterday:

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#ASHP Midyear 2014 game plan

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ASHP Midyear is next week in Anaheim, California. I arrive in Anaheim on Sunday afternoon, and will be there until Wednesday morning. I always look forward to Midyear as it gives me an opportunity to connect with friends I haven’t seen in a while and learn some new things.

One of the great benefits that Midyear offers me is an opportunity to look at large amounts of pharmacy automation and technology in one place at the same time. Midyear is the only place where you will find so many vendors in one space. The exhibit hall is typically full, and it’s where I spend a lot of my time.

While I enjoy visiting with all the exhibitors, limited exhibit hall hours means that I have to prioritize where I spend my time.

My must-see list this year includes:

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