American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
-
Am J Health Syst Pharm · Jul 2009
Review Comparative StudyComparative effectiveness research: Relevance and applications to pharmacy.
An overview of the emerging field of comparative effectiveness research (CER) and its relevance to pharmacists and pharmacy-based decision-makers is provided. ⋯ Comparative effectiveness is an emerging area of research relevant to many areas of health care, especially pharmacotherapy. The knowledge gained from CER is important to pharmacists when applying drug information and making decisions related to drug therapy.
-
Am J Health Syst Pharm · Jul 2009
Telepharmacy and bar-code technology in an i.v. chemotherapy admixture area.
A program using telepharmacy and bar-code technology to increase the presence of the pharmacist at a critical risk point during chemotherapy preparation is described. ⋯ Telepharmacy and bar coding provide a means to improve the accuracy of chemotherapy preparation by decreasing the likelihood of using the incorrect product or quantity of drug. The system facilitates the reading of small product labels and removes the need for a pharmacist to handle contaminated syringes and vials when checking the final product.
-
Am J Health Syst Pharm · Jul 2009
Effect of bar-code-assisted medication administration on medication administration errors and accuracy in multiple patient care areas.
The effect of a commercially available bar-code-assisted medication administration (BCMA) technology on six indicators of medication administration accuracy and nine types of medication administration errors in distinct patient care areas were studied. ⋯ Implementing BCMA technology decreased medication administration errors in medical-surgical units but not in ICUs when time errors were excluded. BCMA technology affected different types of medication administration errors in different patient care areas.