Hi everyone,

Does anyone have a success story to share related to pill crushers? Are there any processes or products that check all the boxes (TJC compliant, good review from nurses, easy to keep clean, effective at crushing the pills)? If your institution has a product or process that is working, I would love to hear about it.

We currently are using the SafeCrush system, but have much difficulty with it actually working well and keeping it clean.

Thanks in advance!
Emily

Hi everyone! A while back, I made a post about concerns with Myxredlin (insulin regular) bags from Baxter having a phosphate buffer and the fact that it's listed as compatible with calcium chloride and calcium gluconate in Lexi-comp and Micromedex. Lexi-comp actually has the name "Myxredlin" listed in parenthesis when you enter it into a compatibility search. I reached out to an MSL from Baxter for some more information and got the following information:

Hello everyone,

Currently my organization mixes alteplase for PE in pharmacy and then brings to ED for use. The ED would like Alteplase available to them to mix on their own to cut down on time. We use Tenecteplase for Stroke and have that available in the Omnicell for RN to mix. We are greatly concerned with having both available in the machine so we are hesitant to change practice. Anyone out there with both on your formulary- how do you manage- is alteplase mixed in pharmacy?

Thank you!
Diane Simko

We are looking to create some policies and procedures standardizing what type of medications are being used in simulation/mock code situations in the hospital. Does anyone have some examples they could share? I listened to the great presentation on this topic at the March 2024 Member Briefing and have reviewed the Foundation for Healthcare Simulation Safety. Thanks!

We are in the process of building insulin safety rules in our Pyxis ES system. Has anyone built insulin related CDC rules in Pyxis to prompt nursing to assess NPO status prior to scheduled long acting insulin administration? Thank you in advance.

Hello,
Over the last 2 years I have been involved with the Besty Lehman Patient Safety center as they work to improve the quality of care in Mass. Last week, the center announced it is seeking 6-8 hospitals to participate in a (free) pilot of automated adverse event monitoring via Pascal Metrics.

I would encourage you to review the content below and also consider attending the informational sessions.

I know this topic was posted last year but I wanted to see if there are any organizations that have moved to storing NMBs in lidded bins in anesthesia carts. I reached out directly to ISMP and they responded that the intent of BPR #7 is that NMBs should be in lidded bins/ boxes wherever they are stored within an organization, including the OR. We currently have rocuronium vials stored in lidded bins but we do not have enough room to store succinylcholine syringes in lidded bins. I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has been successful with this!

Hello,

What is your facility's IV flush protocol, particularly for intermittent access or patients with a PIV but no continuous fluids? For example a patient needs once or twice daily antibiotics but no other IV medications. Do you flush with saline daily or every 12 hours?

Currently we have scheduled 10ml saline flushes every 12 hours for these patients but nursing has asked to look into every 24 hour interval.

Thank you!

At our organization, we are using the 28-day rule for opened ophthalmic drops and discard them after that timeframe. I have been asked to extend this expiration timeframe to the manufacturer given expiration date on the bottle. I would love to hear what everyone else is doing and why. Thank you

Hello Members,

CPOE Leapfrog reporting window is approaching for 2024. Last year we missed a few alerts and need to have them set up in our EMR for this year test. I would like to ask what the thresholds are at your site on the following drugs & labs:
1. Serum Creatinine for Ketorolac, NSAIDs, ACEIs and ARBs
2. Platelets for Heparin