Technology

Cerner Corp.'s CareAware RxStation characterizes the nextgeneration of automated medication dispensing systems. Itintegrates electronic medical records with dispensing cabinets. "Itis a closed-loop system," said Dawn Iddings, director of resourceplanning for the company's device innovation group. "It's anend-to-end solution, fully integrating ordering, dispensing, andadministration at bedside, through a completely sealed device."

Despite a new Food & Drug Administration mandate, which wentinto effect April 26 requiring all drugs supplied to hospitals tobe bar-coded, less than 10% of U.S. hospitals have a bedsidebar-coding system in place. Many hospital pharmacy executives saythe main reason they are not on board yet is the high cost ofimplementing it.

SureScripts is preparing to roll out two new services: medicationhistory, and patient formulary and eligibility, using EMPI softwarefrom Initiate Systems. The software matches physician requests to apatient's medication history with the cor-responding records acrossall SureScripts-connected pharmacies.

Following closely on the heels of its work group success one-prescribing as well as its newest long-term care work groupestablished last year, the National Council for Prescription DrugPrograms (NCPDP) continued to push forward with its plans todevelop a new work group aimed at establishing an e-samplingsystem. These plans were reiterated by NCPDP president Lee AnnStember at the organization's 29th annual meeting in March inPhoenix.

To help kick-start the adoption of both e-prescribing and electronic health records, the Department of Health & Human Services plans to loosen the rules under fraud and abuse statutes to allow donation of computer hardware, software, and training to physicians, pharmacists, and others.

One problem hospitals that have installed a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system have been grappling with is the torrent of medical alerts generated by this technology.

To help kick-start the adoption of both e-prescribing and electronic health records, the Department of Health & Human Services plans to loosen the rules under fraud and abuse statutes to allow donation of computer hardware, software, and training to physicians, pharmacists, and others.

The Food & Drug Administration has been counting on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to be ready for widespread adoption next year, allowing drug product packages to be tagged with tiny chips containing an electronic product code or unique electronic serial number. Now the agency thinks that may not happen and is in a bit of a quandary.

The Food & Drug Administration has been counting on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to be ready for widespread adoption next year, allowing drug product packages to be tagged with tiny chips containing an electronic product code or unique electronic serial number. Now the agency thinks that may not happen and is in a bit of a quandary.

The number of electronic queries about Medicare Part D beneficiary eligibility has dropped since the 6.5 million peak during the first week of implementation. But pharmacists were reminded of how the system works in a recent conference call set up by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Anthem Prescriptions, the PBM for the WellPoint POS system to enroll dual eligibles in Part D, has updated its payer sheet and frequently-asked-questions section on its Web site. The information is at www.anthem.com/jsp/antiphona/apm/landing.jsp. Click on the "Online Services for Providers" link to see the payer sheet, FAQs, and other communications.

Cardinal Health has released a new software version for its Alaris System intravenous pumps, adding safety features and expanding the range of situations in which the pumps can be used.

Delmarva, Medicare's Quality Improvement Organization for Maryland and the District of Columbia, has announced the winners of its Medicare Quality Excellence Awards. The hospital award recognizes the top 10% of institutions that improve the most in the composite of a set of 10 performance measures: five acute myocardial infarction (AMI), two congestive heart failure (CHF), and three pneumonia measures.

Pharmacists and physicians now have free access to Medicare Part D Rx plan formularies via their mobile devices or the Web, courtesy of Epocrates Inc. The information also includes Rx plan co-pay tiers, generic drug options, and coverage restrictions.

If your hospital is not using a closed-loop medication management system, it soon will be. That's the prediction from the Fourth Annual Summit on Patient Safety & Information Technology held in San Francisco last month. Bar-coding, radio frequency identification (RFID), computerized physician order entry (CPOE), and other elements of a closed-loop medication system are moving at different speeds in similar directions.

Like a Turkish bazaar, the exhibit floor of the recent ASHP midyear conference, drawing an eye-popping attendance of 20,000 registrants, showcased many new products for health-system pharmacists. Here are some of the new wares displayed at the Las Vegas show

Reducing medical errors during total parenteral nutrition (TPN) processes has been a 25-year challenge for Robert Poole, Pharm.D., director of pharmacy, and his colleagues at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (LPCH), Stanford University Medical Center.

If your hospital is not using a closed-loop medication management system, it soon will be. That's the prediction from the Fourth Annual Summit on Patient Safety & Information Technology held in San Francisco last month. Bar-coding, radio frequency identification (RFID), computerized physician order entry (CPOE), and other elements of a closed-loop medication system are moving at different speeds in similar directions.

The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) is best known to pharmacists for establishing the Part D prescription drug benefit. However, the bill also promotes Medicare modernization by providing standards and incentives for the adoption of e-prescribing. All prescription drug plans participating in Medicare must have the capability to handle e-prescribing.

When pharmacy director Steve Sievert needs to talk to someone at Baptist Medical Center South (BMCS) in Jacksonville, Fla., he doesn't bother with the telephone. He just tells the Vocera hanging around his neck. The tiny wireless communications device either finds the person somewhere on the hospital campus or routes the request to voice mail.

In a timely marriage of technology and data, RxHub and Siemens Medical Solutions recently signed an agreement to provide outpatient medication records electronically to inpatient clinicians. The move takes place in anticipation of the medication reconciliation patient safety goal set this year by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations for implementation in the nation's hospitals in January 2006.

A new wireless medication management system from Cerner and Hospira may significantly reduce intravenous pump errors. The new system integrates Cerner's bar-code point-of-care (BPOC) system with Hospira's smart pump to ensure that the right patient is getting the right dose of the right drug at the right time by the right route of administration.

When pharmacy director Steve Sievert needs to talk to someone at Baptist Medical Center South (BMCS) in Jacksonville, Fla., he doesn't bother with the telephone. He just tells the Vocera hanging around his neck. The tiny wireless communications device either finds the person somewhere on the hospital campus or routes the request to voice mail.

Specialty generic drug wholesalers Anda and VIP are now shipping orders for Schedule II controlled substances electronically using the Controlled Substance Ordering System software (CSOS).

The foundation standards that will govern electronic prescribing in Medicare have been finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The widespread adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology may be closer than ever before, thanks to a little nudge from the Food & Drug Administration. Randy Lutter, the FDA's acting associate commissioner for policy and planning, announced that the agency's counterfeit taskforce will conduct a public workshop on RFID technology in January or February of 2006.

Jeffry Ellis doesn't lie awake at night anymore wondering whether he made an error at the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy where he works in Sandwich, Ill. And his heart doesn't do a back flip into his throat if a patient complains that her medicine looks different. These days, the 30-year veteran has confidence because he's using a quality assurance program backed by state pharmacy associations.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has posted five Web casts covering various aspects of the Medicare Rx drug benefit. The Web site is at http://cms.archivevideo.com. The training sessions include an overview of the Rx coverage and information resources, the enrollment process and resource kit, how to use the on-line Prescription Drug Plan Finder tool, and two open Ask the Experts Q&A sessions.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has posted five Web casts covering various aspects of the Medicare Rx drug benefit. The Web site is at http://cms.archivevideo.com. The training sessions include an overview of the Rx coverage and information resources, the enrollment process and resource kit, how to use the on-line Prescription Drug Plan Finder tool, and two open Ask the Experts Q&A sessions.

Get set for the next wrinkle in pharmacy services—telepharmacy. Organizations as large as the Department of Veterans Affairs and as small as two friendly pharmacists are using telepharmacy to expand their professional reach.