RE: Canyou READ this Script?

April 1, 2008

where i work uses uses electonic prescriptions. if it

is to be filled at the clinic and not a c-ii you don't

even need a piece of paper!

--- Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS Chemistry

<rxjm2002@...> wrote:

Dear All,

I share this with you. I am not sure if the links

will come out in this. If not go to Pharmacy Source:

" Good afternoon Jeanetta, On Friday I watched the 49

minute video of Schmidt (CEO of Google)

presenting Google Health to HIMSS attendees last

month. It was very inspiring... to say the least.

At the core of Google health platform is availability

of all of an individual's personal health data

anywhere there is

> an internet

> connection, safeguarded with access controlled by

> the individual. This

> will be a massive advancement in health quality due

> to technology for

> certain. One physician from Colorado (at the very

> end of the video)

> talks about the tremendous amount of his time wasted

> on collecting

> data previously collected, reviewing data previously

> reviewed...and he

> stressed how much an " Oh WOW! " factor Google Health

> will have once

> fully realized.

>

> While that may lie far ahead the future... One step

> we can take

> immediately to dramatically improve the safety and

> well-being of

> patients (and I mean immediately!) is abandoning

> handwritten

> prescriptions.

> I received this e-mail last week from Pharmacy

> OneSource Community

> member Belitz, a pharmacist neighbor to the

> north in Canada:

> " It would be interesting to ask if pharmacists were

> in favor or

> changing the rules regarding physician-written

> prescriptions to make

> it a law that all Rxs must be electronically

> produced. This would

> almost eliminate all cases of misfilling due to a

> pharmacist not being

> able to read the Rx. All of this rule changing is in

> the interest of

> public safety, so who could argue against it? The

> technology exists

> with hand-held PDAs or desktop computers. About 10%

> of the scripts I

> see on a daily basis are computer-generated so the

> system is already

> in place.

>

> In this case a handwritten Rx would not be

> considered a legal document

> and pharmacists could not fill them. This would

> eliminate the current

> paper-saving practice of some physicians to write as

> many as 10 items

> on a single 4x5 inch sheet of paper. It's about time

> we took the

> mystery and confusion out of a hundred-year-old

> system of scribbles

> and Latin-based codes; for example is OD right eye

> or once a day? "

> The e-prescribing movement is growing. Louisiana

> announced an

> initiative this week to move Medicaid to

> e-prescribing and Tennessee

> launched a pilot program. The National ePrescribing

> Patient Safety

> Initiative is spreading the word to physicians about

> free

> e-prescribing tools they can use.

> In December 2007, Sen. Kerry and Sen.

> Ensign introduced the

> bill (S 2408) that would provide permanent Medicare

> funds for bonuses

> to physicians who adopt e-prescribing technology and

> it is expected to

> pass this year.

> Pharmacy Times has been running a section in their

> magazine for at

> least the past 10 years called " Can You Read These

> Rxs? " , where

> pharmacists send in their unreadable scripts and

> readers try to guess

> what the doctor's handwriting is trying to say.

> Is it time for jokes about doctors' handwriting and

> puzzles about

> unreadable Rxs to be a thing of the past? Answer

> this week's poll:

> Should there be a law requiring all prescriptions to

> be electronically

> produced instead of handwritten?

> After I asked this question on Friday, I got this

> response from

> Trusten of The Pharmacy Alliance: " Handwritten

> prescriptions must be

> allowed for those exceptional times when the

> prescriber can't use a

> computer, either because the power is out or because

> he/she can't get

> to a computer soon enough and has to write the order

> immediately.

> Also, e-prescribing systems ought to be nationally

> standardized, to

> avoid a hodge-podge of input arrangements.

> Otherwise, bring on

> e-prescribing! It's about 20 years late! "

> To better pharmacy,

>

> Streckenbach

> PharmacyOneSource.com

> P.S. If you want to remove handwritten prescriptions

> in your NICU

> and/or PICU, check out Accupedia. "

>

> Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS

> Pharm Tech Educator

> Founder/Owner

>

" If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be. "

- Yogi Berra

ONLY AFTER YOU'VE LOST EVERYTHING ARE YOU FREE TO DO ANYTHING

like myspace? try yuwie! http://r.yuwie.com/katbird_27

if you have the time to click on an e-mail link like this one:

http://www.sendmoreinfo.com/ID/2425657

you really can earn some extra cash!

even easier just get paid to surf! http://www.agloco.com/r/BBBP9226

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total

Access, No Cost.

http://tc.deals./tc/blockbuster/text5.com

April 2, 2008

I agree that electronic prescriptions should be acceptable more widely

and that written scripts would be accepted for certain cases. cutting

down the usage of paper would actually help with the useless wasting

of paper. but at my workplace it wouldnt be that much cutting down of

paper usage since our program automatically prints out a hardcopy of

the " e-prescription. " actual wasting of paper at my workplace deals

with the content printed on patient handouts and use of a fax machine

[wastes the MOST paper]

before electronic means are absolutely necessary i believe there

should be a standardized sig code format. with the " OD " example, I

would have taken it as right eye since i have never seen it used as

once daily at my workplace.

and if the 'right eye' judgment didn't make sense as with an oral drug

or an opthalmic drug but no indication of eye(s) OR dosage, then of

course there is a discrepancy and the RPh should follow-up with that.

since with the opthalmic drug, it has to either say 'right eye with

missing dosage' or taken as 'dosage but missing which eye(s)' - no

mistake here if the RPh were following procedure and actually

followed-up in either case since both cases had something missing:

missing dosage or route of administration...a pretty sad error if RPh

didn't follow up as s/he should have and if tech did not alert RPh to

this error.

[if anything was incorrect or does not make sense, please let me know

so that I may correct it, thank you]

-richard c, cpht

> Dear All,

> I share this with you. I am not sure if the links

> will come out in this. If not go to Pharmacy Source:

> " Good afternoon Jeanetta, On Friday I watched the 49

> minute video of Schmidt (CEO of Google)

> presenting Google Health to HIMSS attendees last

> month. It was very inspiring... to say the least.

> At the core of Google health platform is availability

> of all of an individual's personal health data

> anywhere there is

> > an internet

> > connection, safeguarded with access controlled by

> > the individual. This

> > will be a massive advancement in health quality due

> > to technology for

> > certain. One physician from Colorado (at the very

> > end of the video)

> > talks about the tremendous amount of his time wasted

> > on collecting

> > data previously collected, reviewing data previously

> > reviewed...and he

> > stressed how much an " Oh WOW! " factor Google Health

> > will have once

> > fully realized.

> >

> > While that may lie far ahead the future... One step

> > we can take

> > immediately to dramatically improve the safety and

> > well-being of

> > patients (and I mean immediately!) is abandoning

> > handwritten

> > prescriptions.

> > I received this e-mail last week from Pharmacy

> > OneSource Community

> > member Belitz, a pharmacist neighbor to the

> > north in Canada:

> > " It would be interesting to ask if pharmacists were

> > in favor or

> > changing the rules regarding physician-written

> > prescriptions to make

> > it a law that all Rxs must be electronically

> > produced. This would

> > almost eliminate all cases of misfilling due to a

> > pharmacist not being

> > able to read the Rx. All of this rule changing is in

> > the interest of

> > public safety, so who could argue against it? The

> > technology exists

> > with hand-held PDAs or desktop computers. About 10%

> > of the scripts I

> > see on a daily basis are computer-generated so the

> > system is already

> > in place.

> >

> > In this case a handwritten Rx would not be

> > considered a legal document

> > and pharmacists could not fill them. This would

> > eliminate the current

> > paper-saving practice of some physicians to write as

> > many as 10 items

> > on a single 4x5 inch sheet of paper. It's about time

> > we took the

> > mystery and confusion out of a hundred-year-old

> > system of scribbles

> > and Latin-based codes; for example is OD right eye

> > or once a day? "

> > The e-prescribing movement is growing. Louisiana

> > announced an

> > initiative this week to move Medicaid to

> > e-prescribing and Tennessee

> > launched a pilot program. The National ePrescribing

> > Patient Safety

> > Initiative is spreading the word to physicians about

> > free

> > e-prescribing tools they can use.

> > In December 2007, Sen. Kerry and Sen.

> > Ensign introduced the

> > bill (S 2408) that would provide permanent Medicare

> > funds for bonuses

> > to physicians who adopt e-prescribing technology and

> > it is expected to

> > pass this year.

> > Pharmacy Times has been running a section in their

> > magazine for at

> > least the past 10 years called " Can You Read These

> > Rxs? " , where

> > pharmacists send in their unreadable scripts and

> > readers try to guess

> > what the doctor's handwriting is trying to say.

> > Is it time for jokes about doctors' handwriting and

> > puzzles about

> > unreadable Rxs to be a thing of the past? Answer

> > this week's poll:

> > Should there be a law requiring all prescriptions to

> > be electronically

> > produced instead of handwritten?

> > After I asked this question on Friday, I got this

> > response from

> > Trusten of The Pharmacy Alliance: " Handwritten

> > prescriptions must be

> > allowed for those exceptional times when the

> > prescriber can't use a

> > computer, either because the power is out or because

> > he/she can't get

> > to a computer soon enough and has to write the order

> > immediately.

> > Also, e-prescribing systems ought to be nationally

> > standardized, to

> > avoid a hodge-podge of input arrangements.

> > Otherwise, bring on

> > e-prescribing! It's about 20 years late! "

> > To better pharmacy,

> >

> > Streckenbach

> > PharmacyOneSource.com

> > P.S. If you want to remove handwritten prescriptions

> > in your NICU

> > and/or PICU, check out Accupedia. "

> >

> > Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS

> > Pharm Tech Educator

> > Founder/Owner

> >

>

> " If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be. "

> - Yogi Berra

>

> ONLY AFTER YOU'VE LOST EVERYTHING ARE YOU FREE TO DO ANYTHING

>

> like myspace? try yuwie! http://r.yuwie.com/katbird_27

>

> if you have the time to click on an e-mail link like this one:

http://www.sendmoreinfo.com/ID/2425657

> you really can earn some extra cash!

>

> even easier just get paid to surf! http://www.agloco.com/r/BBBP9226

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

> You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of

Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.

> http://tc.deals./tc/blockbuster/text5.com

>

April 2, 2008

Hi Jeanetta,

This is an interesting idea. The following caught my attention:

" This would almost eliminate all cases of misfilling due to a pharmacist

not being able to read the Rx. "

Another thing to watch when physicians use the computer is the picking

of the wrong med. Even now we run across this situation. With look alike

names, physicians write for the wrong thing and could easily pick the

wrong med from a computer list. There would need to be extra precautions

built into the system to help avoid this.

Fred

________________________________

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of Jeanetta

Mastron CPhT BS Chemistry

Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 9:34 PM

Subject: Canyou READ this Script?

Dear All,

I share this with you. I am not sure if the links will come out in

this. If not go to Pharmacy Source:

" Good afternoon Jeanetta,

On Friday I watched the 49 minute video of Schmidt (CEO of

Google) presenting Google Health to HIMSS attendees last month. It was

very inspiring... to say the least.

At the core of Google health platform is availability of all of an

individual's personal health data anywhere there is an internet

connection, safeguarded with access controlled by the individual. This

will be a massive advancement in health quality due to technology for

certain. One physician from Colorado (at the very end of the video)

talks about the tremendous amount of his time wasted on collecting

data previously collected, reviewing data previously reviewed...and he

stressed how much an " Oh WOW! " factor Google Health will have once

fully realized.

While that may lie far ahead the future... One step we can take

immediately to dramatically improve the safety and well-being of

patients (and I mean immediately!) is abandoning handwritten

prescriptions.

I received this e-mail last week from Pharmacy OneSource Community

member Belitz, a pharmacist neighbor to the north in Canada:

" It would be interesting to ask if pharmacists were in favor or

changing the rules regarding physician-written prescriptions to make

it a law that all Rxs must be electronically produced. This would

almost eliminate all cases of misfilling due to a pharmacist not being

able to read the Rx. All of this rule changing is in the interest of

public safety, so who could argue against it? The technology exists

with hand-held PDAs or desktop computers. About 10% of the scripts I

see on a daily basis are computer-generated so the system is already

in place.

In this case a handwritten Rx would not be considered a legal document

and pharmacists could not fill them. This would eliminate the current

paper-saving practice of some physicians to write as many as 10 items

on a single 4x5 inch sheet of paper. It's about time we took the

mystery and confusion out of a hundred-year-old system of scribbles

and Latin-based codes; for example is OD right eye or once a day? "

The e-prescribing movement is growing. Louisiana announced an

initiative this week to move Medicaid to e-prescribing and Tennessee

launched a pilot program. The National ePrescribing Patient Safety

Initiative is spreading the word to physicians about free

e-prescribing tools they can use.

In December 2007, Sen. Kerry and Sen. Ensign introduced the

bill (S 2408) that would provide permanent Medicare funds for bonuses

to physicians who adopt e-prescribing technology and it is expected to

pass this year.

Pharmacy Times has been running a section in their magazine for at

least the past 10 years called " Can You Read These Rxs? " , where

pharmacists send in their unreadable scripts and readers try to guess

what the doctor's handwriting is trying to say.

Is it time for jokes about doctors' handwriting and puzzles about

unreadable Rxs to be a thing of the past? Answer this week's poll:

Should there be a law requiring all prescriptions to be electronically

produced instead of handwritten?

After I asked this question on Friday, I got this response from

Trusten of The Pharmacy Alliance: " Handwritten prescriptions must be

allowed for those exceptional times when the prescriber can't use a

computer, either because the power is out or because he/she can't get

to a computer soon enough and has to write the order immediately.

Also, e-prescribing systems ought to be nationally standardized, to

avoid a hodge-podge of input arrangements. Otherwise, bring on

e-prescribing! It's about 20 years late! "

To better pharmacy,

Streckenbach

PharmacyOneSource.com

P.S. If you want to remove handwritten prescriptions in your NICU

and/or PICU, check out Accupedia. "

Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS

Pharm Tech Educator

Founder/Owner

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Thank you.

April 2, 2008

What? Karin I am not sure I understood this correctly! Are you saying that

Control Substance Class II do not require a paper and can be ordered over the

phone? This is not legal according to federal law. However if we are speaking

of CII for a terminally ill patient the Fed law allows the states to opt to a

special form that is not a security prescription for (or a triplicate) and

can be faxed and or used as is.

Please expound on your statements.

Thanks

Jeanetta

karin h <hockeykatbird_27@...> wrote: where i

work uses uses electonic prescriptions. if it

is to be filled at the clinic and not a c-ii you don't

even need a piece of paper!

..

April 2, 2008

Dear C.

I agree with you fully that OD (usually) means right eye and that I too have

never seen it used as once daily. However unfortunately it has been used as once

daily at some place in time and it caused a major error.

I think the bigger problem is confusing of OD with AD OS, OL, OU with AS, AL,

and AU for many newbies and of course the right drug dosage form for a specific

route, such as with: Cortisporin - S vs Cortisporin etc.

I think that much more research on the types of errors before it is made

mandatory should be researched in a 6 location area across the US.

If I were to design such a study it would be that the 6 cities would have ALL

docs and clinics etc have e-scribing only to find the major errors and then a

campaign to eliminate or educate the profs about the errors then a follow up

study to see if the education and possible elimination techniques have worked.

Then proceed with implementation to the whole country. REASON? Well we already

know there are major errors with being in a hurry with drop down boxes. We have

all made them ourselves on the job or in our own personal lives using our

personal computer to choose a specific book, site, etc. It HAS happened already

with the Sumerlin Hospital, Nevada Folic Acid error! (I think I have the right

hospital).

So I am only for the e-scribe once we can see what errors are possible in mass

production and use in trial areas with follow-up to control errors. Why should

we implement and then say we should have had such a study to have avoided a

potential major catastrophe?.

Thanks so much for your input which made all of us THINK I am sure!

Respectfully,

Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS

Pharm Tech Educator

Founder/Owner

rc5686 <rc5686@...> wrote: I agree that

electronic prescriptions should be acceptable more widely