[passing thru]

I work on the most inefficient unit in the country. !!!
Or it's me !!

Here is my question.
I would like to hear how other hospitals are handling this.

Forget standing orders.
The doctor comes in and writes out new orders, a chest x-ray,
a diet change, and 5-6 new medication orders.

Now, forget the cxr and diet change.... I just wanna know,

On your unit, How does the pharmacy get these new
medication orders?

[meownsmile]

HHEE,, we have nice little file slots,, and runners from the pharmacy or volunteers hand carry them to the pharmacy. Very inefficient, and slow. If it is a stat order, i have started faxing it to pharmacy and sending someone after it so i can get it and give the med in a timely manner, but i think i am one of the few that actually do it that way on my floor for stat orders. Heck half the time we cant get the darn fax machine to work.

[passing thru]

Volunteers work the night shift?

Would these runners be pharmacy techs?
Are they the same ones who bring the medications up or
refill the patients medication bins?

Or are they lower on the rung than pharmacy techs?
What is their title?

[Kayde]

over the years we have had those air tunnels.(until they broke),the use of dummies, had runners, now we use fax machine,telephone and those stocked boxes you use your fingerprint for. The pharmacy have their own runners. What we use now is by far the best.

[Flynurse]

We fax all medication orders to pharmacy. And then copy the order and put it in the 3ring binder with the MARs.

If a medication is left off of the MAR in the AM we copy the copy and put a Pharmacy communication sticker noting the problem. If its a STAT medication we keep bugging the pharmacy until we get the med. However, we have to walk all the way to the pharmacy to get most medications, unless it was filled before AM delivery time.

I would like to see this system become more efficient, but I don't see that happening soon as we just started a new computer system. I would especially would like to see a better system for STAT medications or meds that are needed now for the patient who is vomiting their brains out, etc. You know what I mean!

I think it would be benificial to have a good faxing system where you have one pharmicist placing orders in the computer for a specific floor or area. And also to have those vaccum tube systems (like the ones you see at banks) where a med could be sent to the unit ASAP.

Oh all of the ideas I have... I should write a thesis. LOL!

[P_RN]

Tube system last time I worked heck if I know now. Orders had a carbonless copy that was tubed down even before the computer orders were entered.

[Spidey's mom]

Put the white copy of the new orders in a wall container and the one below holds the nurse's copy. Pharmacy techs come by during the day to check and then we also call to let them know there are new orders. Sometimes I run the orders to pharmacy . . we are a small hospital and pharmacy is a 37 sec walk around the corner.

At night the supervisor get the meds from pharmacy for us.

steph

[Rena RN 2003]

our unit secretary puts in all orders for treatments etc. into the computer after a.m. docs make rounds. those are then double checked by the charge nurse plus the charge inputs medication orders. these are received by the pharmacy via computer printouts. our pyxis is always loaded with your basic pharmacy and if something is ordered that isn't in the pyxis, pharm tech brings it up.

for the most part, everything is okay. sometimes we have a delay if something is changed mid-afternoon but then we just call pharmacy and harrass until the orders get put into the system.

[AHarri66]

Every order is faxed to pharmacy whether or not it has a med on it. Med orders are transcribed to the Medex by the nurse. Non-med orders (treatments, Tele, resp, consults, etc) are entered in the computer (MediTech) by the secretary (or nurse, if it's nights.) If it's nights, the nursing supervisor runs to the pharmacy to get the med, otherwise it's entered into Pyxis or sent by pneumatic tube ("Pig") by pharmacy.

[CougRN]

We fax the orders to the pharmacy and then the Tech or pharmacist puts them in the pyxis. 24 hours a day.