Return to Main Menu

Pharmacy replacement system provides efficiency, control by Cindy Abole Public Relations The hard work and efforts of the Pharmacy Services staff and Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) personnel culminated Oct. 22 as a team to introduce the hospital’s new pharmacy replacement management system, Horizon Meds Manager.   More than 30 pharmacists began the daylong task of entering and reviewing more than 15,000 drugs or order entry data from the previous medication management system to Horizon Meds Manager. Once completed, the team made the switch to the new system.   “The collaboration of staff and partnerships has been key to implementing this new system,” said Paul Bush, PharmD, director of Pharmacy Services. “Together we’ve tested the interfaces, organized and provided training, collaborated with nurses, the OCIO and project technology teams to prepare for this moment. It was a total team effort.”   Pharmacists Leigh Howell and Lyndsey Bowman, right, review information on the  Horizon Meds Manager system in the MICU Oct. 24. The project is a centerpiece of the Medical University Hospital Authority and OCIO’s Advanced Point of Care (APOC) Clinical Information System and provides users with a more efficient, functional approach to clinical computing that will be used to manage medications throughout the hospital and clinics. The effort ensures operational efficiency using today’s technology for pharmacists, nurses and physicians while providing good patient outcomes and improving patient safety.      In fall 2005, MUHA and OCIO signed contracts with the McKesson Corp. and PICIS Inc. to supply software and services supporting projects under MUSC's APOC Clinical Information System program. The project is one of several components of the McKesson line scheduled to be implemented in the Medical Center by 2008.     “We’re fortunate that this new pharmacy replacement system has been a very well run project,” said Mark Daniels, APOC program manager. “We’ve had great interaction and cooperation between the OCIO and Pharmacy Services teams. Many people have been involved in sharing the work load from implementation, testing, order entry, training personnel and other activities.”      Since 1988, the Department of Pharmacy Services has relied on the MS Meds manager computer system to handle the hospital’s medication management. But changes in pharmaceutical care and technological developments have prompted a need to convert to a more modern, efficient and safer management systems.      Horizon Meds manager is the foundational piece of other pharmacy-related clinical management systems projects. Other forthcoming projects include the Barcode and Computerized Physician Order Entry projects to enhance computerized records for medication administration slated for 2007.      It is one of several APOC clinical projects planned through the next three years. On Sept. 19, the Emergency Department Tracking Board was implemented in the hospital. Other upcoming APOC projects include: Clinical Documentation, Physician Order Entry, Medication Safety, Clinician Portal and Preoperative Clinical and Anesthesia systems.     Friday, Oct. 27, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.