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Pharmacy Regulation Resource

Pharmacy Regulation Resource is a FREE resource for pharmacy directors. It is brought to you by Hospital Pharmacy Regulation Report, the monthly newsletter that offers tips, trends, and advice to help you with your daily pharmacy challenges.

2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003

Pharmacy Regulation Resource

Issue 31, August 5, 2004

• How to raise quality scores by 70 points in 2 months

  It seemed an impossible task when leaders met with quality and accreditation professionals at the...

Issue 18, May 6, 2004

• Private eyes: Three ways to keep patient information protected

  Picture yourself as the patient when dealing with HIPAA compliance. What would you want to keep...

• Private eyes: Three ways to keep patient information protected

  Picture yourself as the patient when dealing with HIPAA compliance. What would you want to keep...

Issue 16, April 22, 2004

• CMS issues three additional drug codes

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued pass-through codes in Transmittal 132...

Issue 51, December 29, 2004

• FDA issues public health advisory on COX-2 drugs

  The FDA on December 23 issued a public health advisory for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs...

Issue 47, December 1, 2004

• Four quick tips to prepare for infectious patients

  Effective January 1, 2005, JCAHO standard IC.6.10 states that organizations must prepare to respond...

Issue 46, November 17, 2004

• Three tips to evaluate a patient’s falls risk

  Pharmacy's involvement in helping reduce patient falls just got more important, as a new National...

Issue 45, November 10, 2004

• FDA alerts pharmacists to look-alike, sound-alike dangers of two drugs

  A FDA alert highlights the need for caution when handling look-alike and sound-alike drugs, a...

Issue 42, October 27, 2004

• Appease the JCAHO with colorful solution

  Pharmacy technicians at Tennessee Christian Medical Center in Madison, TN, used to traverse the...

• Help improve safety with these three preprinted order form tips

  JCAHO medication standard MM.3.20-one of the standards the JCAHO reported as most problematic for...

Issue 41, October 20, 2004

• Report price gouging to authorities during flu-vaccine shortage

  Beware of price gouging as some may attempt to take advantage of the flu-vaccine shortage.

Issue 40, October 13, 2004

• Medicare OPPS changes may impact pharmacy

  Hospitals will have to evaluate the impact of a payment change in the 2005 Outpatient Prospective...

Issue 39, October 6, 2004

• Check out 2004 medication survey concerns

  The following checklist is based on information from hospitals that the JCAHO surveyed to date in...

Issue 38, September 29, 2004

• How to pick 10 look-alike, sound-alike drug names from the JCAHO-mandated list

  Be sure that your directory of look-alike and sound-alike drug pairs has at least 10 from the...

Issue 37, September 22, 2004

• Four simple steps to monitor goals compliance in the pharmacy

  Take the lead for monitoring compliance with the National Patient Safety Goals within the pharmacy...

Issue 36, September 15, 2004

• Get 'behind the list' with med reconciliation

  Physicians and nurses aren't the only ones who need to comply with the new National Patient Safety...

Issue 35, September 8, 2004

• JCAHO won't let pharmacy off easy with goals

  Bar coding and restricting IV preparation to the pharmacy didn't make the final 2005 National...

Issue 34, September 1, 2004

• Three tips for better pain awareness

  Pain is a leading cause of disability in the United States, but it remains undertreated in many...

Issue 33, August 25, 2004

• Hospitals to get new drug payments quicker

  The proposed 2005 Outpatient Prospective Payment System would speed access to new treatments and...

Issue 32, August 18, 2004

• Have appropriate staff prepare morning medications

  Be careful if nursing supervisors prepare medications for the day before the pharmacy opens.

Issue 31, August 11, 2004

• How one PA pharmacy uses manual dispensing to control narcotics

  Lehigh Valley (PA) Hospital saw a 30% reduction in narcotic discrepancies after opening a pharmacy...

Issue 30, August 4, 2004

• Castaway: Creative themes for patient safety fairs

  A patient safety fair is one way to help reinforce survey preparation and JCAHO medication...

Issue 29, July 28, 2004

• Subtract rule of six from hospital's medication dosing equations

  JCAHO National Patient Safety Goal #3b requires you to standardize and limit the number of drug...

Issue 28, July 21, 2004

• AWP reimbursement limits down for two drugs

  Payment limits for two drugs-the precancerous skin-lesion treatment aminolevulinic acid HCl and the...

Issue 27, July 14, 2004

• Three ways to identify look-alike, sound-alike drugs

  Revisions to National Patient Safety Goal #3 require you to identify a list of look-alike and...

Issue 26, July 7, 2004

• Medicare drug card information everyone should know

  Last week, we featured a list of questions and answers about the Medicare-approved drug discount...

Issue 25, July 1, 2004

• Answers everyone should know about Medicare-approved drug cards

  Medicare beneficiaries will have questions about the Medicare-approved discount cards and which one...

Issue 24, June 23, 2004

• Call this hotline in a poison emergency

  Post the national poison hotline in your pharmacy and call it in the event of a poison emergency...

Issue 23, June 16, 2004

• Three tips to help small pharmacies comply with proposed JCAHO goal

  Proposed revisions to National Patient Safety Goal #3 requires you to improve the safety of using...

Issue 22, June 2, 2004

• CMS issues unclassified OPPS code

  Update your claims systems to pay for new drugs and biologicals that do not have a billing code...

• CMS seeks proposals for therapy management

  Clinical pharmacists in specialized practices should encourage their groups to get involved in a...

Issue 20, May 20, 2004

• Get pharmacy involved when tackling the JCAHO's IC standards

  Make sure you have representation on your hospital's infection control (IC) committee.

Issue 19, May 12, 2004

• Don't overdose on medication order indications

  You do not need to document an indication for use on each medication order as long as it exists...

Issue 17, April 28, 2004

• Know your state's laws when mailing prescriptions to patients

  Check with state and local authorities for applicable laws if your pharmacy mails prescription...

Issue 15, April 14, 2004

• How the VA used technology to reduce medication errors

  Colmery-O'Neil Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Topeka, KS, reported as much as an 85...

Issue 14, April 7, 2004

• Link automated distribution with CPOE and increase clinical interventions

  In the final quarter of 2003, El Camino Hospital's pharmacy made 1,100 clinical interventions with...

Issue 13, April 1, 2004

• Check more than just medication orders for unapproved abbreviations

  Pharmacy staff usually catch the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations...

Issue 12, March 24, 2004

• In a high-alert medication pinch? Create a double-check system

  Get nurses to understand the importance of having a colleague double-check high-alert medications...

Issue 11, March 17, 2004

• Reading between the lines: Understanding the technology behind bar coding

  The Food and Drug Administration on February 25 issued its final rule on bar coding. Here's how a...

• Get involved in therapy management

  Clinical pharmacists in specialized practices should encourage their groups to get involved in a...

Issue 10, March 10, 2004

• Two ways to protect a patient's information during criminal investigations

  Take steps to protect patient information during an investigation, says Michael Hoying, RPh, MS...

Issue 9, March 3, 2004

• Reality TV: An example to educate your staff

  Patricia Reilly, RN, MBA, compliance and privacy officer at Gracedale Nursing Home in Nazareth, PA...

Issue 8, February 25, 2004

• Six quick tips to protect patient privacy in the pharmacy

  University of Missouri Health Care in Columbia, MO, uses the following checklist to train staff...

Issue 7, February 18, 2004

• Review medication orders for ED "boarders"

  Pharmacists should review medication orders for patients temporarily boarded in the emergency...

Issue 6, February 12, 2004

• Pharmacist teams help educate and immunize public

  Pharmacists can distribute medication, educate victims about disease and treatments, and staff...

Issue 5, February 5, 2004

• Notify patients of their privacy rights

  Give patients your hospital's notice of privacy practices if your pharmacy offers retail services...

Issue 4, January 29, 2004

• Tips to reduce medication errors in elderly patients

  U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) created a list of tips to help the elderly and their caregivers manage...

Issue 3, January 22, 2004

• Find freezer space for your nasal flu vaccines

  A scarcity of the influenza vaccine led many health care facilities to purchase FluMist, the nasal...

Issue 2, January 15, 2004

• Quick tip: Don't date multi-dose vials

  Check the manufacturer's expiration date for the storage recommendations because pharmacies may...

Issue 50, December 22, 2004

• JCAHO offers five tips to reduce PCA errors in Sentinel Event Alert

  The JCAHO on December 20 issued a Sentinel Event Alert warning hospitals about the dangers of...