How quickly things change. In the last three years, pharmacy systems have evolved to become not just pharmacy dispensing systems but total medication monitoring packages, says Larry Baucum, senior implementation manager of Long Beach, Calif.-based First Consulting Group (FCG).

In order for physicians and pharmacists to make informed, patient-safety-driven decisions about a patient’s medication course, an intelligent pharmacy system must provide expert knowledge to every member of the patient-care team. Multi-facility and larger hospital networks and the sheer volume of data are also demanding that systems be able to scale and integrate with other healthcare systems. At the end of the day, the Holy Grail of pharmacy systems is the integration with the entire medication process, says Jeff Addington, senior implementation specialist, also of FCG.

Eclipsys Corp.

SunriseXA

Features: Integrates pharmacy operations with the rest of the healthcare organization to deliver improved workflow, streamlined operations and increased patient safety. A closed loop medication management process empowers caregivers to decrease medication turnaround time, decrease the potential for adverse medical events and deliver the best care possible.
Integration with other applications to achieve patient safety: SunriseXA’s closed-loop Medication Management workflow links together physicians as they place orders, pharmacists as they verify and dispense those orders and nurses as they administer medications as a result of those orders. This helps avoid potential drug errors before they occur and eliminates the error-prone and inefficient process of manually transcribing physician orders into a pharmacy system.

GE Medical Systems Information Technologies

Centricity Pharmacy IS

Features: Uses Windows client/server architecture, supports extensive integration with ancillary systems, third-party knowledge databases, and provides users with powerful clinical and management decision-making support.

Integration with other applications to achieve patient safety: Offered as a module of the Centricity Clinical Enterprise Information System, offering stand-alone or fully integrated patient safety capabilities with Centricity CPOE, MAR, and MedAdmin, GE’s barcode-enabled bedside point-of-care medication administration tool that delivers advanced nursing workflow functionality beyond the patient’s five rights.

Global Care Solutions

Hospital Solutions

Features: The Pharmacy Information System from Global Care Solutions improves efficiency and safety by providing comprehensive inpatient and outpatient functionality to fully support the medication management process, from the medication order through to administration.

Integration with other applications to achieve patient safety: The Pharmacy Information System is a key component of the fully integrated Hospital 2000 product suite. Its integrated clinical and demographic information combined with Clinical Decision Support and Computerized Physician Order Entry improves outcomes and reduces risks.

Healthcare Management Systems Inc.

HMS Monitor

Features: An integrated pharmacy information system known for ease of use, user customization and report-generation capability. Using our HIS Databases, HMS Monitor provides pharmacies with capabilities such as medication administration records, patient profiles, IV and TPN labels, medication charges, inventory control, automated admissions and unlimited reporting capability.

Integration with other applications to achieve patient safety: Offers a customizable pharmacy product for facilities using the HMS Monitor HIS solution to reduce medication errors, improve the pharmacy process and deliver the highest level of patient care.

McKesson Automation Inc.

Fulfill-Rx

Features: Combines McKesson’s automation products and distribution solutions to streamline inventory replenishment, automate re-ordering and optimize medication cabinet inventory. Enables pharmacies to instantly update dose-level prices, automatically generate daily distributor orders and value total inventory investment.

MedDirect

Features: An order communication system that uses imaging and Web-based technology to automate and simplify the medication order process. Provides an electronic image of the order that can be quickly expedited, tracked and retrieved.

Integration with other applications to achieve patient safety: Implementing AcuDose-Rx with MedDirect enables pharmacists to be notified in real time when a caregiver overrides a patient’s profile in the AcuDose-Rx cabinets.

ROBOT-Rx

Features: Uses bar-code scanning technology to automate storage, dispensing, returning, restocking and crediting of unit-dose medications. Ensures the right medication is dispensed for the right patient, frees pharmacists from repetitive tasks to clinical activities and streamlines inventory management.

Integration with other applications to achieve patient safety: Bar-coded medications dispensed by ROBOT-Rx are scanned at unit-based cabinets for accurate restocking, and scanned at the bedside for accurate medication administration. Implementing ROBOT-Rx with unit-based cabinets and point-of-care technology reduces potential dispensing and administering errors.

Misys Healthcare Systems

Misys Pharmacy

Features: This state-of-the-art integrated pharmacy information system built on client/server technology provides clinical decision-support tools, pharmacist consultation documentation, and drug-therapy control and documents the entire medication-therapy process. It addresses medication-therapy outcomes, pharmacy cost control, medication distribution and reporting enterprise-wide.

Integration with other applications to achieve patient safety: Through integration with Misys Insight and Misys Laboratory, it provides continuous medication surveillance, clinical decision support, documentation and control to improve patient safety. With user-defined clinical alerts, pharmacists and other healthcare providers can be alerted immediately to changes in patient clinical status to optimize care and minimize pharmaceutical misadventures.

QuadraMed Corp.

QuadraMed Pharmacy

Features: Supports general ordering for pharmacists or physicians and safe medication dispensing while streamlining the administration process in the inpatient, outpatient and clinic and long-term care settings. Delivers built-in clinical tools and support the “five rights” with integrated bar coding.

Integration with other applications to achieve patient safety: QuadraMed Affinity Medication Management system is part of Affinity HIS, providing a total closed medication management loop from ordering through dispensing and administration. QuadraMed also offers standalone pharmacy solutions that integrate with other clinical products.

Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services Corp.

Siemens Pharmacy

Features: Optimizes patient safety by improving the quality of medication therapy through pharmacist intervention documentation, clinical conflict screening, drug-lab clinical rules and the Siemens Rules Engine, a clinical decision-support tool that provides timely alerts and reminders.
Integration with other applications to achieve patient safety: Integrates with Siemens and non-Siemens HIS systems for CPOE of medication orders, pharmacist clinical intervention documentation, clinical conflict screening, drug-lab clinical rules and clinical decision support. Also integrates with Siemens Med Administration Check, a barcode solution that automates the medication administration process.