Pharmacy Information System – GE® Centricity Pharmacy
Formerly known by the IDX name, this pharmacy-specific information system is interfaced to the hospital’s order entry system for computer physician order entry (CPOE) capability, clinical documentation and reporting.
How it Works
A physician places an order that is then verified by a pharmacist. A proponent of CPOE for almost two decades, Saint Francis is continuing to implement bedside bar coding throughout the facility. When medications are administered, bedside bar coding enables the nurse to “chart” the dose and enter it into the record for subsequent patient billing.
Unit-Based Cabinet System – Pyxis® Medication Stations
Each nursing unit has two to four medication stations (approximately 75 overall). Each area has a control console to manage supply inventory, user and patient information. Using combinations of cabinets and towers (some are refrigeration-ready), the system stores most doses for patients in the ADC equipment.
The automated dispensing cabinets (ADC) receive a “load” of medications that the pharmacy has produced once an order has been verified and a report created. Reports differentiate between medications designated for a specific patient room number versus those for routine, floor stock purposes.
When routinely used drugs fall below par levels, “refill” reports are triggered for printing on a scheduled basis, after which refill medications are picked, checked by a pharmacist and then delivered to ADC machines in nursing units throughout the hospital.
Pharmacy fulfills ADC load requirements on a 24/7 basis and completes standard refill tasks two times per shift.
How it Works
Typical procedure for a nurse assigned to a patient involves going to the ADC machine nearest to the patient’s room; bringing up the patient’s name at the console, which is CPOE interfaced; and viewing the medication profile.
Once a medication is selected, a single drawer opens containing a unit dose and, upon removal, the machine decreases the inventory level for that medication.
The nurse administers the dose to the patient at the bedside and scans the bar codes located on the patient’s wrist band and the medication.
Carousel System – Talyst AutoPharm® with AutoCarousel™
This automated system controls pharmacy department inventory and manages workflow for pharmacy receiving, stocking, picking and wholesale ordering. A pharmacy technician manages the system. AutoPharm software synchronizes staff and equipment. Automated carousel storage reduces the amount of physical space required for storing non-refrigerated medications.
How it Works
A Talyst-Pyxis® interface directs a refill list from the ADC equipment to the inventory in the carousel and the pharmacy technician picks the required medications. Medications that are not in the carousel print on a separate refill list and are selected manually.
IV Admixture Compounding System – IntelliFill i.v.®
This automated compounding system prepares IV syringes in hospital pharmacies with considerably greater speed and accuracy than can be achieved through manual processes. Each ready-to-administer syringe is produced with a customized label including a bar code.
How it Works
Through an interface to the GE pharmacy system, orders for the more than 50 drugs handled by IntelliFill i.v. are automatically selected. (Orders for other drugs are routed separately for manual preparation).
To maximize use of IntelliFill i.v., pharmacy technicians at Saint Francis produce products via the four modes of operation. Pharmacy bases the weekly production on utilization reports as well as a pre-determined “run” schedule. For example, once a week, syringes from large-volume bags are produced.
Prepared syringes that contain frozen drugs are thawed and re-labeled with a refrigeration expiration date on a daily basis to maintain par levels in the refrigerator within the pharmacy.
With preparation of injectable medications handled in the pharmacy, nurses can devote more time to patient care. They retrieve room temperature syringes from the ADC cabinets or refrigerated syringes from ADC refrigerators and administer them via Baxa MicroFuse® infusers.
IV Workflow Manager – IntelliFlow®
The Pharmacy Department is actively using the first IV workflow manager, which implements barcode technology and digital imagery of sterile products to prevent IV medication preparation errors and improve efficiency. Intelliflow® implements best practices in the IV room workflow by allowing verification of all products by barcode and digital photographs prior to preparation. A pharmacist is then able to verify all aspects of the process remotely from anywhere on the hospital network. Every preparation is electronically logged and tracked allowing for no manually record keeping. This helps with regulatory compliance as well as reducing wastage from lost or missed doses.
Note: Because technology changes rapidly, check with your FHT Sales Manager for possible updates.