The pharmacy staff works day in and day out to ensure that patients receive the right medication in proper quantities and on time. To further improve their services, they’re replacing the pharmacy’s computer program with a state-of-the-art version that specializes in medication distribution. A major step forward, it will allow pharmacy and
clinical staff to update their management of medication and reach Quality and Risk Management objectives, as outlined in Douglas strategic plan.

This $400,000 Douglas initiative addresses a recommendation from the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation team’s April 2005 visit, stressing the need to revise the medication distribution network.

To choose the best medical distribution system possible, representatives from the Pharmacy, the Nursing Directorate and the Financial and Computer Services Directorate undertook a rigorous selection process in 2006. The system they chose, called Gespharx 8, will be fully operational by January 2008.

Major Advantages

According to project manager Pierre-Paul Valiquette, “Gespharx 8 is specially created for hospital pharmacies, and is already in use at over 80 Quebec hospitals.”

“It brings many advantages,” adds Geneviève Hamel, chief of the Pharmacy Department. “In the past, pharmacy staff typed entire prescriptions into the computer by hand. The new program will give staff specific options as they enter information, and will even give pharmacists the option to enter medication protocols.”

The system also alerts pharmacists to potential problems including:

• dangerous interactions between newly-prescribed drugs and medications that patients already take;
• faulty prescriptions that call for doses that are too high to be safe or too low to be effective;
• patients with allergies to ingredients in prescribed medications.

In addition, all errors will be easier to track down, “This allows us to look for problem areas, so we can make changes to improve our services. The change might be as simple as putting two similar-looking medications on separate shelves in order to avoid confusion.”

Staff Benefits

With this improved system and some revised practices, nursing staff will be able to manage and distribute their medications more effectively. In addition, the daily patient medication summaries they receive from the pharmacy will be more detailed—supplying information on drug side effects like nausea or low blood pressure. This will help nursing staff assess if a patient’s symptoms are drug-related, and help them reassure patients who might be experiencing temporary discomfort related to medication.

Because nursing staff will have more opportunities to interact with a pharmacist on their unit, their medication-related knowledge will be enhanced. They’ll also be able to offer patients more opportunities to speak directly to pharmacists about medication questions or concerns.

Explains Jesney François, nursing care advisor, “Technology should be at the service of the clinician. This particular software will address the everyday needs of nurses and allow them to spend more time with patients.”

For psychiatrists and general physicians, there will be fewer prescriptions to write by hand, since the program can prepare “repeats” with a simple initial from the doctor. For Food and Nutrition Department staff, there will be faster updates on each patient’s medication chart to help them plan meals accordingly.

Addresses Multiple Needs

The project—so vital to the ongoing improvement of Douglas services—is overseen by an eight-member Steering Committee composed of Charles-Édouard Carrier, department head, Technical Platform and Specialized Services Department; Sylvie Dubuc, pharmacist; Jesney François, nursing care advisor; Delphine Givois, assistant to the director of Professional and Hospital Services; Suzie Grégoire, Info-Center chief and co-manager of Computer Services projects; Geneviève Hamel, chief, Pharmacy Department and Steering Committee president; Hani Iskandar, MD, medical chief, Intensive Care Unit, and Pierre-Paul Valiquette, computer consultant and project manager. The committee’s wide-ranging expertise reflects the project’s ultimate goal—to meet the needs of all professions involved with medication management.