ications organized and secure, and by helping to ensure the right dose
is administered to the right patient at the right time.
1. "Smart" IV pumps
Newer IV pumps contain a library of your facility's drugs and can be
programmed with hard and soft limits, which reduce errors associat-
ed with the manual programming of pumps, says Michelle Mandrack,
MSN, RN, director of consulting services at the Institute for Safe
Medication Practices (ISMP) in Horsham, Pa.
The limits built into the drug library help you recognize a potential
error if you accidentally put in a rate or dose that exceeds the pre-
programmed limits, explains Ms. Mandrack. However, there are
some common errors that can still occur with these devices. You
still have to manually go through the device's library and choose the
correct medication. You then have to input the dose and rate by
hand.
"There are now systems available in which 'smart' pumps are inte-
grated with the EMR," says Ms. Mandrack "In these systems, the elec-
tronic medication order containing the infusion parameters is verified
by pharmacy and then, through barcode scanning, pre-populated in
the smart pump." The systems ensure that the correct information is
sent to the smart pump, which then sends information back to the
EMR to document intake and how much medication is being used.
2. Automated dispensing cabinets
These are great devices that allow medications to be stored and dis-
pensed near the point of care. "I see these devices in many hospital
ORs and believe they also have a place in standalone outpatient facili-
ties," says Ms. Mandrack.
There are 2 main types of automated dispensing cabinets available:
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