How to do a med pass?

[wandwaving]

Well where I work it's an electronic MAR. It's organized alphabetically and has all the patients medications. I was wondering how you guys go about passing meds? How do you start? How do you end? Do you go by room number? Do you organize it by administration time? Do you start with blood sugar/insulin patients first? Thanks for your help.

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

It depends on you EMAR - the last one I worked with had the ability to prioritize your med pass. Push a button and all your accu-checks come up, then your insulin and all other meds once I figured it out med pass got easier but still passing meds for 30+people is daunting for even the most seasoned nurse.

Hppy

[nurse_flo_marie, MSN, RN]

I've used both the paper MAR & the eMAR. I got into the habit of asking the nurse I received report from who were the diabetics so I checked to see if they needed insulin or fingersticks. The eMARs I've used allow you to sort & filter out certain orders & admin times. I check to see what meds I can give in that 1hr window before to get those out of the way in the beginning. If I have more time, I go through all the patients/residents & jot down what times they have meds due on my cheat sheet.

[caliotter3]

Only had paper MAR. Started at one end of the hall and went from room to room until all were done, but did BS checks/insulins first.