IV admixture

Keywords:
Telepharmacy - Telepharmacy is the delivery of pharmaceutical care via telecommu
nications to patients in locations where they may not have direct contact with a
pharmacist.
IV Admixture - An IV admixture is the preparation of a pharmaceutical mixture of
two or more drugs into a large bag or bottle of IV fluid.

-Hospital pharmacies can save time and money by implementing telepharmacy in the
IV-admixture cleanroom. If a pharmacist can review the IV admixture remotely, t
hey save the time needed to suit up and enter the cleanroom to review the soluti
on. Freeing up pharmacists time allows them to focus on revenue-generating tasks
such as clinical activities.
Can be perfomed when there is not a pharmacist physically present in the hospita
l to perform IV admixture indicated for the patient
Pros:
The technology prevents pharmacists from having to handle hazardous medications,
such as chemotherapy, reducing exposure risk.
Documentation can also be enhanced with these systems, as picture records capture
lot numbers and expiration dates in addition to thestep-by-step processes of pr
eparation.
[Some of these systems perform in-process verification steps (e.g.,bar code veri
fication ofcorrect product selection, gravimetric verification of additive quant
ities) which provide additionalassurance to the remote pharmacist that the prepa
ration is correct.]
Cons:
Chance of error in dispensing.
Technology malfunction may occur.
Procedures:
The pharmacy technician scans the bar code on the drug vial to ensure that the c
orrect medication has been selected. The patient's profile must also be sent to
the pharmacist to check and ensure rational drug use.
The technician captures electronic images of the vial label and the filled syrin
ge in the preparaton room before injecting the drug into the IV bag.
The pharmacy technician must then follows USP <797> guidelines as directed by the
pharmacist.
Prior to completing the preparation process, the technician presses a button on
the Telepharmacy screen to receive verification by a pharmacist.
The pharmacist now then verifies the admixture preparation and then give the go s
ignal to dispense it to the patient.
Application:
Uses
Hospital pharmacies can save time and money by implementing telepharmacy in the
IV-admixture cleanroom. If a pharmacist can review the IV admixture remotely, th
ey save the time needed to suit up and enter the cleanroom to review the solutio
n. Freeing up pharmacists time allows them to focus on revenue-generating tasks s
uch as clinical activities.