TachyBrady

Thank you mydesygn. I will find out which version of Meditech we have. We have the basic generic patient list that has name, room number age, doctor, diagnosis, etc etc that prints out as a list. Is that the PCS patient profile report? We use that as our "brain" to write our particulars of each patient. What does it mean to "write" an NPR report? Once it is written will it need maintanance? What is the 'end-of-shift report' in the process interventions that was referred to Sun0408?? What we need is very basic! I can't believe that something like kardex information is so difficult to incorporate into our system. It would be nice to visualize these suggestions. I will be meeting with IS this week and want to be as prepared as possible as to what is available. Otherwise, they will just tell me "it's not possible" and we will be back to square one. Thanks for your help.

That MeditechL message board is a little too deep for me. Any other suggestions for where I may find Meditech process intervention info including ekardex and/or end of shift report info?

What is PCM?

p.s. I have many more Meditech questions if anyone can help me out. Thanks in advance.

Thank you. this sounds exactly like what we need!! But we don't have it in our process interventions. How do we get it there? Is there any way I could see an example of it?

I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out the best way to develop a kardex in Meditech. We recently got rid of our paper kardexes and IS developed an ekardex that pulls info from iatrics (not sure if I am using and/or spelling the right terms). The result was disasterous, taking way too much time to load and search for this very basic and needed patient info. My UM is putting together a new team to develop a kardex that is quicker and easier to access. We all want the paper kardex back but I don't think that is going to happen. Can you give me any advice or point me in the right direction to learn more about the available options in Meditech? We will eventually meet with our IS people but they are not very open to our ideas or suggestions... it's either their way or no way. Obviously their original way was not very practical! Thanks for any help you can give me!

Is that like giving oxyincontinent... ?

Health IT should: "• enhance workflow, perhaps by automating mundane tasks or streamlining work, without increasing physical or cognitive workloads" I don't think this is happening at my facility!! They are always adding more and more computer documentation screens and it bogs down the work flow. Is there anyway to visualize and compare health IT products? Surely there is a better way to document.

yep Mort, pick B

This actually is a good question. The answer is D and the reasoning is that people that have CHF should be closely watching their sodium intake. A normal person eats a 4 gm sodium diet. Someone with CHF should eat 2 gms a day. A college student probably eats 6 gms or more a day. A chronic CHFer will take a diuretic and closely watch their sodium intake. All it takes is a Thanksgiving dinner with loads of ham and all the processed fixins, Christmas dinner, a birthday party, cookout, etc., to push the sodium intake over the edge. Sodium retains water. Sprinkle some on your counter or eat a bag of chips yourself and see if it aint so. As nurses, you should be aware of the sodium content in foods. Read labels. Processed meats, canned foods, snacks.... all a big no-no. A 'Holiday Heart' is similar... binging on drugs, alcholol, or sodium, can throw a monkey wrench into the works. I've been a telemetry nurse for 17 years. We gear up for after-holiday admissions... SOB and CHFers being the big ones. The quick fix is easy.... IV lasix. The long term management requires sodium reduction and PO diuretics. If you think a little pickle or slice of pepperoni pizza won't hurt, think again.

Your department sounds too management heavy. Two unit managers and one charge nurse, none of which take patient assignments, is a waste of bodies. We are a 30 bed tele unit that shares a unit manager with another department plus our charge nurses take a full patient assignment. I doubt your immediate superiors will appreciate a suggestion to decrease number of management and increase pt-care staff but it definetly sounds like your facility could use some restructuring.

This actually is a VERY good learning tool for dysrhythmias..... the doctor's arms are the atria and his legs are the ventricles. His antics illustrate the conduction! A must-see for students! Thanks for posting this.

excuse me?

hope this helps.

I have to disagree on a couple of points here..... many patients live perfectly well with a BP in the 90s and some even in the 80s. The reason these patients' pressures are so low is because they take a beta blocker daily. Lowering heart rate and BP are expected and desired effects and result in easing the work of the heart. Coinciding considerations are whether the patient is symptomatic and whether this HR and BP are their norm. Rebound tachycardia can occur in patients who do not recieve, for whatever reason, their normal beta blocker dose. Be careful to not cause more problems with your good intentions. What other drugs (other than dig) lower HR with out lowering BP? I dont' think I've ever seen a normotensive patient bottom out simply from a dose of lopressor or other beta blocker. Perhaps there was something else going on in the patients you mention? Lopressor is the trade name for metoprolol, a beta blocker. In its original studies, lopressor was proven to lower blood pressure as well as benefit angina and MI patients. I'm not sure what year lopressor came out but much research has been done since then. Beta blockers, including metoprolol, are now indicated for rate control for certain rhythms as well as is the first line treatment for acute MIs and angina. Many of our patients are ordered "lopressor" for rate control. Of course our pharmacy substitutes metoprolol.... in the end it's all the same. Sometimes you have to think outside of the box. Last but not least, who do you report your doctors to when you don't agree with their treatments?