Implementation of a telepharmacy service to provide round-the-clock medication order review by pharmacists.
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Date
2010-11-24
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Abstract
Purpose The implementation of a telepharmacy service to provide round the clock medication order review by pharmacists is described Summary Seven critical access hospitals CAHs worked collaboratively as part of a network of hospitals implementing the same electronic health record EHR computerized prescriber order entry CPOE system and pharmacy information system to serve as the health information technology HIT backbone supporting round the clock medication order review by pharmacists Collaboration permitted standardization of workflow policies and procedures Through the HIT backbone both onsite and remote pharmacists were given access to the medication orders the pharmacy information system and other patient specific clinical data in patients EHRs Orders are typically reviewed within 60 minutes of when they are entered into the system The reviewing pharmacists have remote access to the EHRs in each CAH After completing the clinical review the pharmacist selects the appropriate medication to dispense from the CAH s formulary If the medication order is not made using the CPOE system the order is scanned into a document and sent via e mail to remote pharmacists The pharmacist enters the necessary information into the EHR and pharmacy information system The medication order review process from this point forward is identical to that used for medications ordered via CPOE The new medication order is then entered into the EHR and the CAH nurse can proceed with the order Conclusion The implementation of a telepharmacy model in a multihospital health system increased access to pharmacy services allowing for round the clock medication order review by pharmacists