One day last week I was driving home and happened by a school that doubles as a community swimming pool in the summer. The street had several large speed bumps, forcing me to move rather slowly. I’m usually irritated by speed bumps because they slow me down. This day, however, I was happy they were there because a little boy darted out in front of me. I drive a ¾ ton Ford f250 crew cab pick-up. It’s big and heavy. I have serious doubts that a child would stand much of a chance if they went head-to-head with my truck. Fortunately I was coasting along at a safe 10 MPH secondary to the speed bumps and easily came to a stop at a comfortable distance away. At that moment I was thankful for the safety feature built into the pavement on the road, i.e. the speed bumps.
Talyst
Poor economy equals fewer pharmacy IT projects
Healthcare IT News: “The economy is forcing hospitals to consider delaying or scaling back their IT projects, according to a survey of America’s “most wired†hospitals and health systems.The Most Wired Survey, conducted annually by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, the journal of the American Hospital Association, found that even with incentives being made available to implement IT, hospitals still have a long way to go.”
Beyond patient safety with technology and automation
I had reason to do some thinking about healthcare automation over the weekend, and after much thought decided that healthcare, specifically pharmacy, was a little strange in several ways. As an industry, healthcare rarely looks beyond patient safety when talking about technology and automation. Let’s face it, patient safety is the rally cry for any department in need of a jumpstart to complete a project that has stalled for one reason or another. Unfortunately the investment of time, energy and capital resources typically stops immediately after implementation secondary to meeting the patient safety goal. However, this model seldom allows for technology and automation to be taken to the next logical step.
Hello from the ASHP Summer Meeting in Chicago
Today was my first official day at the ASHP Summer Meeting in Chicago. I spent the first half of the day in the exhibit hall checking out the vendors and all the cool stuff they had on display. The exhibit hall wasn’t open to everyone, but I had the unexpected surprise of receiving a vendor’s … Read more
Taking advantage of your carousel space.
I have posted many times on our system for barcoding medications in the pharmacy. The posts have included reference to our efforts to increase storage space.  Our goals have always been to store as many medications as possible within the carousel to take advantage of the software’s many safety features and inventory functionality. Like all … Read more
Even the best things can be improved.
I had the opportunity to speak with a nice young lady from Talyst this morning about extending our barcoding system to our pharmacy satellites. She had great insight into what we wanted to do and offered some very helpful tips. The conversation took an interesting turn when she asked me how I liked the system and where I thought improvements could be made. After the initial shock of a vendor asking me my opinion, we spent a few minutes discussing the system and how our workflow has changed for the better.
Overall, we have been very pleased with our barcoding system. I wish all platforms ran as smoothly as our Talyst products. However, there is always room for improvement. I understand that Talyst is currently working on a “big” new release of their AutoPharm software that is focused on patient safety. I don’t have specifics, but it is possible that some of the items listed here are already in the works.
Extending the reach of AutoPharm/AutoCarousel with “the wall”
In March of 2008 our hospital implemented a system to meet a district wide initiative for 100% barcoded medications in the pharmacy. The barcoding project for the pharmacy was immense, involving a pharmacy remodel, hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds (if not thousands) of man hours.
The project included the implementation of an automated bulk packager capable of creating unit-dosed, barcode ready medications (AutoPack), a barcode labeling system (AutoLabel) and an automated medication storage and retrieval system (AutoCarousel with AutoPharm software). All products were purchased from Talyst, who is headquartered in Bellevue, WA.
Eliminating Medication Waste in Long-Term Care
From PRWeb by way of Twitter: Talyst InSiteâ„¢, the first pharmacy automation system designed specifically for long-term care facilities, enables on-demand dispensing and saves nursing time. Our pharmacy utilizes several pieces of technology from Talyst. See full article here.
Fewer unit-dosed, barcode ready drugs from the manufacturer?
I’ve noticed a trend over the past few months. Several medications that we typically purchase are no longer available in unit-dosed, barcode ready packaging. The result has been the purchase of more and more medications in bulk, which require repackaging and barcoding prior to dispensing. The reason for the trend is unclear, but appears to be a difference in opinion on what information should be contained in the barcode and what barcode standard to use. Even with organizations like ASHP encouraging manufacturers to develop standards and the FDA requiring barcodes on prescription medications, there appears to be a gap.