Medication Monitoring System Reduces Drug Errors

A novel pharmacy management solution provides closed-loop tracking of narcotic medications to reduce drug errors.

The Pharmacy Touch medication management system, a modular add-on to the Anesthesia Touch system, provides a closed-loop audit trail for controlled substances that begins (and ends) in the healthcare facility pharmacy and provides narcotic tracking, charge capture, and decision support at the point of care (POC). The system uses a bar coding system with imbedded tracking numbers; a quick wave of the labeled syringe past the barcode scanner triggers documentation in Anesthesia Touch, including real-time safety checks and automated pharmacy charging.


Simultaneously, the medication dispense transaction is recorded, seamlessly updating the Pharmacy Touch inventory counts and controlled substance tracking, eliminating duplicate documentation and reducing drug errors. The Pharmacy Touch and Anesthesia Touch solutions are products of Plexus Information Systems (Plexus IS; Boston, MA, USA), and also offer secure in-room narcotic storage that also integrates Anesthesia Cart, a product of Capsa Solutions (Columbus, OH, USA).

“The key to efficiency in the operating room is coordinating tasks while eliminating redundant actions. Pharmacy Touch facilitates safety and efficiency in the OR,” said Albert Woo, MD, president of Plexus IS. “Plexus IS developed Pharmacy Touch to help the pharmacies in our customers' hospitals and surgery centers with the necessary tasks of inventory management, narcotic recordkeeping, and accurate patient charging—but without requiring duplicative work from the anesthesia staff.”

“The labeling and delivery of medication is a fundamental aspect of anesthesia care. Leveraging these activities to automatically update the pharmacy's medication records was an obvious extension to Anesthesia Touch,” added Greg Matthews, director of product management at Plexus IS. “On the pharmacy side, the system automatically tracks narcotics and reconciles what was used and what was returned. Because it is a closed system, pharmacists can immediately determine whether any narcotics are missing, tally what has been used, and have charges sent automatically to the pharmacy system and to the financial department.”

Plexus IS also offers the Codonics Safe Label System (SLS) as a fully integrated solution with Anesthesia Touch and Pharmacy Touch. The SLS helps to eliminate medication labeling errors using visual and audible electronic safety checks. The Codonics medication safety system prints medication labels, intravenous (IV) line labels, invasive monitor lines and other operating room needs on demand.

Related Links:
Plexus Information Systems 
Capsa Solutions