Pharmacy Technology

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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Cool Pharmacy Technology – Kiro Oncology System

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I’ve recently had conversations with several companies outside the U.S. developing robotic technology for the i.v. room. One of those systems is the Kiro Oncology System. Check the video below. A couple of things worth noting: The system uses dual robotic arms during the compounding process. This is something that is important for the next … Read more

Automated intravenous fluid monitoring at the bedside

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Over the years I’ve had a lot of ideas, some good and some not. When an idea comes to me I typically record it in a notebook that I have sitting on my desk. Occasionally I return to the notebook and review the ideas to see how many of the ideas still have merit. Sometimes an idea has become outdated, and rarely an idea will have materialized as a product of similar design built by a company. And then there’s a group of ideas and concepts that still hold value, but haven’t been seen in the market.

Today I was rummaging through some of my old ideas. One of them from 2010 caught my attention. In 2010 I thought it would be cool if someone could use technology to analyze the IV fluid being administered to a patient in real-time. Basically such a system would prevent the wrong IV medication from being hung on a patient, thus preventing a medication error.

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Cleanroom technology for pharmacy – DRUGCAM

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DRUGCAM is an interesting piece of pharmacy cleanroom technology. On one hand it falls into the semi-automated systems category because the person using it has to manually manipulate all the components of the sterile compound they’re making. In other words, it’s not a robot. On the other hand DRUGCAM uses some interesting technology and software … Read more

Applications to assist with Antimicrobial Stewardship

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A couple of days ago I wrote about The California Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Initiative, and how it’s an opportunity for pharmacists to get out and stretch their clinical legs. Antimicrobial stewardship requires a lot of real-time surveillance and monitoring of patients, labs and cultures, medication use, and so on. There are basically two ways to … Read more

Cool Pharmacy Technology – Intelliguard RFID Solutions from MEPS Real-Time

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Last week I spent some time down south in San Diego visiting a couple of hospitals and speaking with the good folks at MEPS Real-Time. My objective for the visit was twofold: 1) see MEPS RFID Solutions in a live environment, and 2) speak with the people at MEPS and get an inside look at their technology. I was able to accomplish both goals.

MEPS Real-Time is a company that specializes in providing RFID solutions for healthcare specifically targeted at acute care pharmacies. Their Intelliguard® RFID Solutions product line currently includes a Kit and Tray Management System, Controlled Temperature Cabinets, and a Vendor Management Inventory (VMI) System.

MEPS_RFID_TAG

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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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On demand controlled substances dispensing at the point of care (NarcoMedic®)

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NarcoMedic is a product from Pearson Medical Technologies. Pearson is a small company out of Alexandria, LA. They’ve made a business out of bar code labeling and packaging technologies. You’re probably most familiar with their iPackRx unit dose packager and m:Print software; either as the direct product or possibly as an OEM’d version for another company.

A colleague sent me a marketing email a few days ago from Pearson announcing NarcoMedic, a “decentralized management platform” for controlled substances. It caught my attention as I thought about something like this several years ago.

As with other automated dispensing units, NarcoMedic is designed to dispense medications at the point of care, i.e. nursing unit. With that said, what caught my attention were the following points:

  • Tabletop design – 38”H x 23”L x 32”D. Med rooms tend to be cramped. It’s nice to have the option for a small unit.
  • Packages and dispenses in individual patient-specific bar coded packages (packages on demand from storage locations)
  • Packages and dispenses tablets, vials, ampules and syringes in individual packages.

Pretty interesting. As I said, it’s not a new concept, but perhaps it’s time has come. Regardless, it’s nice to see someone out there trying something new.

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