Can't mix drugs??

[shortstuff31117]

Our pharmacy recently decided that we can't mix drugs, meaning we can't mix pitocin, nubain, or any other "high risk" drug. This has caused a problem already where the physician orders a different concentration than we have stocked in our fridge.

There is some confusion as to whether this is going to apply to all drugs including antibiotics, but we dont have pharmacy at night so I don't see how that's going to work. I know the pharmacist isnt going to come in the middle of the night to mix some antibiotics for a newborn or something.

Anyone else experience this??

[LDRNMOMMY, BSN, RN]

We run into the same thing, too. When 6 gm of Mag. Sulfate is ordered, our premixed is 4 gm and the pharmacist will NOT send up 2 more gms to add to the bag. He has to mix it himself. At night, some nurses are taking 1/2 of another 4 gm bag and adding it. Some even bolus out of the 40 gm / 1000 ml bag. We are now using premixed Pit: 30 units in 500 ml which is 1 mu/min = 1 ml/hr.

We have the same pre-mixed pit at our hospital too! We also have the same problem with the Mag. Sulfate! We do the same things, to get the 6 Gm load.

We are also not supposed to mix meds except for add a vials. Our pharmacy takes forever to get meds to us though. Sometimes over an hour and then longer if the scanned order gets misplaced.

[unikuelady, RN]

The only units in my facility allowed to mix their own medications is the ER ICU and the NICU. This is only allowed during the 8 hours at night when their is no pharmacist in house. When we do mix our own medications, we have to show our calculations, verified by min 2 RNs and documented.

[hogan4736, BSN, RN]

...This has caused a problem already where the physician orders a different concentration than we have stocked in our fridge...

why are docs ordering concentrations?

that's solely a pharmacy thing