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Link automated distribution with CPOE and increase clinical interventions

Pharmacy Regulation Resource, April 7, 2004

In the final quarter of 2003, El Camino Hospital's pharmacy made 1,100 clinical interventions with the help of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and automated medication dispensing, says Mark Zielazinski, the hospital's chief information officer. Those interventions have reduced errors and saved the hospital $120,000 a year in drug utilization costs.

In March 2003, El Camino integrated its CPOE with its Pyxis automated medication dispensing system, says pharmacy director Mei Poon, PharmD. Now when an order comes into the pharmacy, pharmacists check it for any potential drug interactions or other complications. They then send the order electronically to the dispensing machine, where a nurse or other authorized caregiver may retrieve the patient's medication.

Pharmacists must review the order before they dispense the medication.

"This system allows us to review and dispense medications within 15 minutes," Poon says. "All pharmacists are now doing electronic reviews."

El Camino Hospital has been able to reduce that turnaround time even more, Poon says. Pharmacists typically review orders in seven minutes.

Zielazinski estimates that the hospital spent $400,000 to integrate CPOE with the Pyxis system. With medication errors typically occurring at a rate of four to six for every 1,000 patient days, eliminating only one will help the hospital pay for the system, he says.

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