SigmaCare

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

Is anyone using SigmaCare for their EMARs and ETARs? We are starting training next week and although I am excited about the prospect of EMR, I am a bit uncertain of how everything will really work. My IT department is not stellar so that is a concern, too.

Anyone go through survey with EMR?

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

We don't use Sigma Care, but I do use EMR for our med pass. In reference to survey- watch the infection control with the computers if you are taking them into the rooms. We treat it as equipment, but I know if staff sit it on a bedside stand and take it to another room, well we have been questioned. As far as access to the surveyors- make sure they can only get to the EMAR and TARs. We have a report that actually tells you the time the medication was administered- don't want them seeing that. In the real world they would not see that anyway. So I just give them access to the EMAR, TAR, and Physicians Orders and make sure they have access to the system with their own password.

Are you doing the flexible medications? We are getting ready to go that way here in a few weeks. With EMAR it is a little more tricky- need to make sure your pharmacy/EMAR is able to work with that. We are changing our policy and calling our administered times medications are given to alert times of medication since the EMAR time can not be changed to the actual time it was administered. Confused, sorry? It is.... We are just making sure our policy spells out our flexible medication schedule.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

How flexible is your medication schedule? I'd love just to have times that say Morning or Evening instead of the old 8am and 12 pm

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

That's exactly what I am doing....daily, morning, evening, at bedtime, twice a day ect..... In my policy I am having spelled out that daily can be given from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM, Morning can be from 6:00 AM to 11:59 AM, the twice a day would be with at least 8 hours in between ect.... I know there will be a few things that will still have strict times that the MD orders- usually psych, but otherwise I am trying to keep it generic so its not complicated. Its going to rely on communication between the nurses and aides.

I am in the process of writing my policy for our pharmacy committee, but I know this will work as our medical director is also at another facility and helped them create this a few years back. They have gone through surveys with this, so I am a little more at ease. This is how you take your medications in the community. We are still trying to figure out our "given on an empty stomach". We are also going with natural awakening time where we do not wake people up, so I am trying to figure out those 6 am medications before b-fest. Oh- we are opening our b-fest from 7 to 9 am, to help ease the medication pass too, so nurses will not be so crazy. They will give medications as residents get up in the morning.

It will be crazy at first, but it will be so much more resident directed.....and that's what I am for.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

We don't wake our people up for breakfast either. They can have breakfast anywhere from 730 to 10AM. I'm in Massachusetts with a notoriously tough DPH so my policies will have to be iron clad. We're getting rid of as many meds as we can as well. EMARs and ETARs are very exciting, but getting there is a whole pile of work!

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

Let me hammer mine out and then I will share them with you- it may not work with your DOH, but I will share. Yeah- I have already told the administrator I am taking vacation when we implement all these programs on the SAME DAY(flexible medications, natural awakening, and open dining). I am going to need to stock up on something....lol :)

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I am working as a Clinical Consultant in New York State. We are currently in the beginning

process of implementing Electronic Medical Records into a Long Term Care

facility. The facility is also in their "window" for survey and I was wondering

if you had any information on a Policy that we could put into place stating that

some of the current P&P will be modified due to the fact that they are

currently in transition? Is there anything that you could possibly provide me

with or suggested sites that I can search?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Rehab.

We have Sigmacare for our EMar and ETar. I am a new nurse so I don't have a ton of experience with Mass DPH surveys but we went through one last summer with Sigmacare and things went great! The surveyors do not have access to Sigmacare except for what we choose to show them on our screen (for one or two particular patients), so they can't see if a med is late unless it's late on the patient you're providing care for at that moment. Also, our computers are attached to the med/tx cart so they rarely go into a patient's room. Sigmacare allows us to change the administration time so it always appears that we are in compliance with timing. Of course it's best to just change the time due to the time you're actually able to get done, which we're encouraged to do with daily meds.

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Hey guys. ...im am using sigmacare and i am a new orientee. I found that i am able to login into sigmacare from home. I was thinking about doing this because I want to get use to the software before i am placed on the floor by myself. ...do you think i will get in trouble if I log in from home???.....i wont document or make changes i just wanna click and see where things are whenever I am at work.

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Specializes in retired LTC.

You don't want them to think you're a hacker, do you?

Don't invite trouble.

JMHO

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Be careful. My facility has a policy on who can access outside of the facility

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