RPMS Pharmacy Site Parameters

1. RPMS Pharmacy Site Parameters

2. Course Objectives • Assess need to have a properly configured Information Management system and use of uniform data to assure medication accuracy, timely access to patient information and patient safety. • Explain the necessity to configure Information Management system in medication management to correlate to physical processes to assure that the system supports but does not supplant the process. • Evaluate package parameters relating to medications and medication use in both outpatient and inpatient settings to function for usability and workflow including IHS specific options, a uniform print format for EHR, controlled substance orders, the PharmEd Button, inpatient user parameters, inpatient ward setup, Ward Groups, Unit Dose Parameters and MAR/MAR Labels. Determine best practices.

3. Potential for Problems • Pharmacy computer systems rely on numerous information pieces and all need to be accurate for the system to work without error • Patient Information • Name, DOB, Doctor(s), Insurance(s), Allergies, Medication list , etc. • Drug Information • Generic and brand names, NDC, DEA class, prices, interactions, allergens, etc. • Insurance company information • Plans, address, billing procedures, formularies, etc. • Doctor information • Address/Phone, DEA, NPI, Medicaid #, etc.

4. Potential for Problems • Pharmacy equipment needs to be reliable and have minimum of down-time to support the operation: • Delays in Rx processing, errors in the process, frustration, etc. • Pharmacy systems need well trained people to operate and maintain them: • Loss of data, inaccurate data, poor system reliability, errors, lawsuits, etc.

5. Proper Configuration:It Is Important Health information systems are a part of every aspect of providing patient care. • Errors can have grave consequences: • Patients • Providers • Facilities • Organizations • Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO) • Improperly configured systems may not work correctly and may cause delays in workflow. • Computer programs have dependencies: • Changes in one place often demand changes elsewhere. • Garbage in one place often results in garbage elsewhere.

6. Physical Configuration The information management system best supports the operation when it physically and logically matches the operation: • Workstations in strategic locations, ergonomic • Printers located where they are needed • Automation supports the flow (i.e., Scriptpro is in a helpful location and not out of the way) • Computer program that logically follows the data flow in the pharmacy Sometimes the computer program is designed better than the physical operation and it is a good idea to adopt some elements of the computer’s data flow.

7. RPMS Pharmacy Configuration • RPMS Pharmacy configuration is complicated by a number of factors; the most obvious is the number of menus one must traverse to find them all. • Outpatient Parameters are found in: • Outpatient Pharmacy Supervisor menu • IHS Specific Pharmacy Options menu • Inpatient Parameters are found in: • IV Supervisor menu • Unit Dose Supervisor menu • EHR parameters • Some modules have their own parameters within them: • POS • Ward Stock

8. RPMS Pharmacy Configuration • It is important for a pharmacy informaticist to be well trained: • Must know which menus contain which parameters • Must know how to configure the parameters • The parameters are defined in the script.