Pharmacy Information Systems

Pharmacy information systems (PIS) are complex computer systems that have been designed to meet the needs of a pharmacy department. Through the use of such systems, pharmacists can supervise and have inputs on how medication is used in a hospital.

Some of the activities which Pharmacy Information Systems have been employed in pharmacy departments include:

• Clinical Screening: The Pharmacy Information System can assist in patient care by the monitoring of drug interactions, drug allergies and other possible medication-related complications.

• When a prescription order is entered, the system can check to see if there are any interactions between two or more drugs taken by the patient simultaneously or with any typical food, any known allergies to the drug, and if the appropriate dosage has been given based on the patient’s age, weight and other physiologic factors. Alerts and flags come up when the system picks up any of these.

• Prescription Management: The Pharmacy Information System can also be use to mange prescription for inpatients and/or outpatients. When prescription orders are received, the orders are matched to available pharmaceutical products and then dispensed accordingly depending on whether the patient is an inpatient or outpatient.

  It is possible to track all prescriptions passed through the system from who prescribed the drug, when it was prescribed to when it was dispensed.

  It is also possible to print out prescription labels and instructions on how medication should be taken based on the prescription.

• Inventory Management: Pharmacies require a continuous inventory culture in order to ensure that drugs do not go out of stock. This is made even more difficult when there are multiple dispensing points. When don manually it is very difficult to maintain an accurate inventory.

  Pharmacy Information Systems aid inventory management by maintaining an internal inventory of all pharmaceutical products, providing alerts when the quantity of an item is below a set quantity and providing an electronic ordering system that recommends the ordering of the affected item and with the appropriate quantity from approved suppliers.

• Patient Drug Profiles: These are patient profiles managed by the Pharmacy Information System and contain details of their current and past medications, known allergies and physiological parameters. These profiles are used for used for clinical screening anytime a prescription is ordered for the patient.
  
  
• Report Generation: Most Pharmacy Information Systems can generate reports which range from determining medication usage patterns in the hospital to the cost of drugs purchased and /or dispensed.
  
  
• Interactivity with other systems: It is important that Pharmacy Information Systems should be able to interact with other available systems such as the clinical information systems to receive prescription orders and financial information system for billing and charging.

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The following are examples of Automated Pharmacy Information Systems that can be of use to the pharmacists:

1. CPOE

Just what the doctor ordered.

At the heart of our Clinical Care Solutions is the industry's most well-respected computer physician order entry solution. CPOE has been recognized as the gold standard for improving patient care and reducing medical errors. The sophisticated capabilities of CPOE provide clinicians with real-time decision support alerts. Drug interactions, allergy warnings, therapeutic alternatives, dose checking and expert guidance are just the beginning. Getting the right care up-front improves patient outcomes, reduces lengths of stay and provides an enhanced work environment for every member of the care team.

CPOE delivers:

• The gold standard for medical error reduction
• More information at the point-of-care
• Better medication management
• Increased productivity
• Ability to demonstrate tangible proof of technology innovation and improved care to patients
• A way to attract the new breed of technology-savvy physicians
• Competitive advantage

Through its design and installation of CPOE at Montefiore Medical Center, the team at Emerging Health has created the implementation methodology and the critical integration components necessary to ensure its successful implementation at your facility. We understand that it is essential to thoroughly analyze the total existing enterprise workflow and to leverage the existing IT structure. From the earliest stages, we include physicians and nurses in the design process - a vital part of the system's ultimate success. We also provide excellence in training and ongoing support so that all hospital personnel are comfortable with this important transition. There is no need to "go it alone" with a project as critical as CPOE when Emerging Health has the real-world experiences and resources to design, implement and support your CPOE system.

2. Emergency Room

Working in the high-pressure, fast-paced world of emergency medicine requires a comprehensive set of tools to better manage the delivery of quality medical treatment. Emerging Health offers leading tools to help improve triage, contributing to both the quality and speed of patient care.

Healthcare professionals gain access to patient information, and can track patients within the ED as well as coordinate services between separate departments throughout the facility.

An electronic whiteboard offers an at-a-glance view of each patient's location, problem, triage state, physician and up-to-the-minute lab and ancillary results. All views of information can be customized to the clinician's preferences, saving time and promoting more effective and efficient patient care in a setting where every second counts.

3. E-prescribing

Our e-prescribing solution allows a physician to build a complete medication profile whether the patient is in the hospital, the emergency room or the ambulatory office. It is designed to eliminate handwritten prescriptions and perform real-time drug-allergy, duplicate order and maximum dose conflict checks, all in a patient-specific order profile. Prescriptions can be printed or electronically faxed, eliminating legibility errors. Tremendous efficiencies are gained by automating the process of refills, especially for complex patients with multiple problems requiring multiple medications.

4. Pharmacy Information System

Our solution for pharmacy fully integrates the pharmacy with CPOE and Medication charting. It is a highly flexible solution designed to streamline and automate the daily workflows of pharmacists and pharmacy personnel through a wide variety of inpatient and ambulatory pharmacy capabilities. Once the order has been entered by the physician, electronic orders are received instantaneously, allowing the patients to rapidly receive vital medications. Online verification work lists allow the pharmacist to immediately review, verify and fill incoming orders. Integration with pharmacy robotics and automated dispensing stations further adds efficiencies and reduces potential medication errors.

By streamlining workflows, pharmacists spend less time on repetitive and manual tasks and have more time for critical patient care activities. This not only means greater job satisfaction and reduced turnover, but provides you with the ability to fill more prescriptions with fewer resources.

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