July 1997

We would like to devote this Special Pharmacy Key to welcoming you to the University of Kansas Medical Center. We would like to discuss the services provided by the Department of Pharmacy, institutional policies concerning drug use in the hospital and clinics and suggested guidelines for prescription writing. The goal of this publication is to foster an understanding of pharmacy services and drug use policies so that safe, efficient and rational drug use or therapy may continue at this institution.

PHARMACY SERVICES AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER

The Department of Pharmacy provides comprehensive, 24-hour service to patients, physicians and staff as an integral part of the teaching, research and patient care programs of The University of Kansas Medical Center.

CLINICAL PHARMACY SERVICES

Pharmacy Services for inpatients are provided by decentralized Clinical Pharmacists. Get to know the clinical pharmacist responsible for the medical service and/or nursing unit caring for your patients. This pharmacist is an excellent resource and your best liaison with the central Department of Pharmacy when drug-related questions or problems and any special requests arise.

The Clinical Pharmacist is responsible for review of the patient medication regimen. Pharmacists screen for potential problems with medication orders: dosing, drug allergies, drug interactions, intravenous incompatibility and more. Physicians are informed of potential problems and possible drug therapy modification. Pharmacists are actively involved in monitoring antibiotic therapy and provide pharmacokinetic dosing for selected antimicrobials. Patient education during the hospital stay and/or upon discharge is provided by Clinical Pharmacists. A Self-Medication Program and medication calenders are available for patients with multiple medications and compliance problems.

Pharmacy notes located in the patient chart may contain information regarding patient education, compliance assessment, pharmacokinetic dosing or other information related to patient drug therapy decisions.

Nursing units at KUMC are divided among seven pharmacy teams. Coverage during evening and weekend shifts varies slightly. Clinical Pharmacists carry beepers for accessibility and nursing unit staff or central pharmacy can provide the beeper number for designated pharmacists.

THE FORMULARY SYSTEM

The Formulary System is the accepted method whereby the Medical Staff selects the medications available to KUMC Patients. The Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee evaluates, appraises and selects from numerous medical agents available and makes recommendations to the Medical Staff concerning which medications are considered to be most useful in providing patient care at KUMC. Members of the P&T Committee are listed in the Formulary.

Under the Formulary System, members of the Medical Staff agree that in each instance in which they prescribe a drug by proprietary (trade) name, they expressly authorize the hospital pharmacist to dispense and the nurse to administer the identical drug under its non-proprietary (generic) name. If for any medical reason the physician wants the patient to receive a specific brand name of a drug, the physician must indicate so by checking the appropriate box on the prescription or physician order form. If dismissal prescriptions are not filled at the KUMC Outpatient Pharmacy, the statement "Brand Name Required" must be written in the prescribing physicians own handwriting in order to insure no substitution.

FORMULARY ORDER RESTRICTIONS

The Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee and the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff have placed restrictions on the ordering of certain formulary drugs. Use of restricted medications may be limited to attending physicians, a particular medical service or may require special approval prior to use. Restrictions are noted throughout the formulary drug listing on a drug specific basis.

REQUEST FOR NON-FORMULARY DRUGS

When a non-formulary drug is requested, the pharmacist will inform the prescribing physician of formulary alternatives which are therapeutically equivalent and of their proper dosage. If an acceptable formulary medication is not identified, the Pharmacy will obtain a small supply of the drug for that particular patient. The entire quantity ordered and any delivery fee incurred will be billed to the patient. A time delay of 24-48 hours should be anticipated since the drugs must be ordered from outside sources.

The non-formulary drug may be sent home with the patient as a dismissal medication if written for, but will be limited to only the remaining supply. It is recommended that another prescription be sent with the patient for any additional quantity necessary.

If a physician intends to prescribe a non-formulary drug on a regular basis, it is recommended that a request for evaluation for Formulary admission be submitted.

FORMULARY ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS

Requests for additions to or deletions from the KUMC Formulary should be submitted to the Director of Pharmacy on the Application for Formulary Admission Form to facilitate consideration by the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. Such requests must be approved by the Chairman of the Department desiring the drug. Applications must be complete and must include sufficient supportive data to enable the committee to make a sound decision. Application forms are available from the Department of Pharmacy. All drugs are admitted on a nonproprietary name (generic) basis. No drug of unknown or secret composition will be admitted.

DRUG DISTRIBUTION

Nursing floor stock is available from Pyxis7 units on all patient care units and many diagnostic units. This automation allows a health care professional with a password to access medications that are on a patient profile and medications that are considered "PRN" for an individual unit. Passwords are electronic signatures for which the health care professional is held ultimately accountable.

The medications available in each Pyxis7 unit are chosen by each nursing unit and its pharmacist. The availability of each medication is based upon safety, usage and stability. Prescribed medications that are not available in Pyxis7 units are delivered to patient care areas by the Department of Pharmacy in individual packages which identify each dose (Unit Dose Packaging). These doses are placed in a secure cassette drawer labeled for each patient on the nursing units (unit dose cart).

INTRAVENOUS ADMIXTURE SERVICE

The Department of Pharmacy prepares all intravenous drug admixtures. This policy ensures that all solutions are prepared under aseptic conditions and are screened for drug interactions and incompatibilities. Standard infusion concentrations have been established for several intravenous drugs. Medication orders for these drugs should be written in the concentrations listed below.

Except for reasons of stability, compatibility, and/or volume problems, the standard diluent used in intravenous "piggyback" orders is D5W 50ml.

To facilitate the processing of TOTAL PARENTERAL NUTRITION AGENTS, ORTHOPEDIC IRRIGATIONS and CARDIOPLEGIC SOLUTIONS, the Pharmacy Department recommends the following:

1) TPNs

•The standard hang time for all adult and pediatric TPN solutions is 20:00.

•All TPN orders for adults and pediatric patients are due in Pharmacy by 14:00. This includes new and changed orders.

•Pharmacy will compound the 24 hr supply of TPN for a patient based on the orders in the Pharmacy at 14:00 and these solutions will be delivered to the nursing unit by 19:30.

•When a new TPN order is received after 14:00, the pharmacist will contact the prescribing physician to determine when the order will need to be processed and if it can be scheduled for the next delivery at 20:00.

2) Orders for Orthopedic Irrigations, Cardioplegic Solutions and other solutions needed for surgery should be written the day before surgery is scheduled.

MEDICATION ORDER TURN AROUND TIME

PURPOSE: To prioritize the processing of new medication orders and to establish an appropriate turnaround time for these orders.

PROCEDURE: The following turnaround times have been established:

1. STAT: Stat orders are defined as emergency medications (medications that are needed only in life threatening situations) and so written by the prescribing physician. The physician should call a STAT order to the attention of the nurse so it can be taken off the chart immediately. Pharmacy can fill these orders in five (5) minutes if the order is called down and someone from the unit picks up the order.

2. ASAP/NOW: ASAP or NOW orders will be written as such by the prescribing physician. These orders will be delivered to the nursing unit within 30 minutes from the time pharmacy receives the written order. Exception: Chemotherapy will be delivered within 2 hours from the time pharmacy receives the written order.

3. ROUTINE ORDERS: Routine orders are all orders not written as STAT, ASAP or NOW. Routine orders will be delivered within two (2) hours from the time pharmacy receives the written order.

SCHEDULED TIMES FOR MEDICATIONS

PURPOSE: To establish standard schedules for medication orders when a specific schedule is not indicated on the medication order or pharmacy requisition.

PROCEDURE:

1. It is the responsibility of the physician, nurse and/or clinical pharmacist to indicate the appropriate time schedule for the drug on the order or pharmacy requisition.

2. If a time schedule is not indicated on the order, the following schedules will be used:

*These schedules are to be determined by when the order is received in the pharmacy and what the turn around time for the order needs to be.

Special Schedules:

Unit specific schedules will be limited to the following:

QID verses Q6H schedules are not interchangeable and will be interpreted strictly as indicated above unless the clinical pharmacist suggests a different time schedule is more appropriate and indicates that schedule on the pharmacy requisition. If the prescribing physician does not want the standard time schedule he/she must indicate on the drug order the exact times the doses are to be administered.

OUTPATIENT PRESCRIPTIONS

Prescriptions filled in the KUMC Pharmacy must be written only on a KUMC prescription blank, by the KUMC Medical Staff and the patient must be a patient of the Medical Center. Prescriptions for KUMC employees must also comply with these requirements. Schedule II prescriptions must be written on green blanks. All other prescriptions, including Schedule III, IV and V are to be written on KUMC buff colored prescription blanks labeled "Not Valid for Schedule II Prescriptions". Prescriptions written by medical students must be countersigned by a staff physician. The outpatient pharmacy is open 8:00am - 7:00pm Monday thru Friday and 9:00am - 2:00pm Saturday and Sunday and Holidays. After hours patients with prescriptions may contact the pharmacist by using the phone located in the emergency room or the discharge pharmacy located underneath the escalator.

REFILLS: Prescriptions may not be refilled unless the physician specifies the number of refills to be permitted in the lower left hand corner of the prescription blank, where the following is printed: "Refill _____ times". Prescriptions written at the Medical Center may be refilled in the Outpatient Pharmacy for not longer than one year for non-controlled drugs and 6 months or 5 refills for schedule III, IV and V Controlled Substances per Kansas State Law. Schedule II medications are not refillable and require a new written prescription for each dispensing.

DIRECTIONS: Prescriptions written for outpatients must include adequate directions for the patient. The use of "Take as Directed" does not provide these patients with adequate directions on the prescription label to insure proper dosage. All prescriptions filled by the Pharmacy will be labeled with the name and strength of the medication.

DISMISSAL PRESCRIPTIONS: Prescriptions for dismissal medications the patient wants filled at the KUMC Outpatient Pharmacy should be written on the Take Home Medication Form. The order form should be faxed to the Outpatient Pharmacy. The pink copy of the form will stay in the patient’s chart and the white copy is exchanged for the medications at the pharmacy. The Pharmacy cannot release the medications without the form. DISMISSAL PRESCRIPTIONS SHOULD BE WRITTEN 24 HOURS PRIOR TO DISCHARGE. The early writing of the dismissal prescriptions facilitates patient medication counseling by the Clinical Pharmacist. This also eliminates the patient having to wait for their prescriptions upon discharge.

TELEPHONE PRESCRIPTION ORDERS: The Department of Pharmacy will accept phone-in prescriptions for KU patients and employees where federal and state law allows. The pharmacy cannot accept telephoned orders for Schedule II drugs due to the Drug Enforcement Administration regulations restricting such activity. Phone-in prescriptions will not be accepted for routine dismissal prescriptions. Physicians may phone prescriptions in on our Doctor’s Prescription Phone Line (588-2375).

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES: All prescriptions written for controlled Substances (Schedule II - Schedule V) MUST be written by a physician possessing a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number.

All new staff must sign a signature card to be maintained in the outpatient pharmacy. All prescriptions written for Controlled Substances must bear the name and address of the patient, the current date and the DEA number. Refills on Schedule II prescriptions are not permitted.

INVESTIGATIONAL DRUGS

The pharmacy will stock and dispense investigational drugs in accordance with written directions submitted by the principal investigator of a study. Pertinent information regarding the pharmacologic and therapeutic properties of investigational medications will be kept by the investigational drug pharmacist. Investigational Drugs shall be used only under the direct supervision of the principal investigator and must have prior approval by the Human Subjects Committee. The necessary dispensing records will be maintained by the Department of Pharmacy for the principal investigator.

EMERGENCY DRUGS AND CODE BLUE RESPONSE

Each nursing unit or patient care area maintains a standardized Emergency Box containing emergency medications. The Emergency Box is on an exchange basis with the pharmacy. Once the tamper proof lock is broken the Emergency Box should be returned to the pharmacy for the exchange of a complete Emergency Box. The complete contents of this standardized box are listed in the KUMC Formulary.

There are a number of Code Blue carts located throughout the Medical Center. These carts also contain a standardized drug box with emergency drugs for use in resuscitation of patients. A pharmacist will respond to all Code Blue calls with a secondary drug box of medication to supplement the Code Blue cart medications.

DRUG INFORMATION SERVICES

The Department of Pharmacy offers an organized Drug Information Service to promote rational drug therapy by improving availability and use of drug information to physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, dieticians and other health practitioners.

The Drug Information Service maintains special journals, texts and reference sources designed to answer questions about the identification, availability, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, toxicology, stability, adverse effects, drug interactions, bio-availability and pharmacokinetics of various medications. The Drug Information Service is available to health practitioners from 0800 - 0500 Monday through Friday.

Questions concerning drugs or drug therapy on an Inpatient Service should be directed to the Clinical Pharmacist by paging the pharmacist. If the Clinical Pharmacist is not available, or the request does not originate on the Inpatient Service, the request may be referred to the Drug Information Service by calling extension 2328.

Other services provided by the Drug Information Service include publication of pharmacy newsletters for physicians, nurses and other health care personnel, evaluations of drug studies for the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and coordination of the Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Program. Drug Audit criteria that has been used in Patient Care Audits is available from the Drug Information Service as a source of rational prescribing information.

The reference book, Drug Information - American Hospital Formulary Service is available on all nursing units to aid in answering less complex questions. The Micromedex7 Drug Information System is also available for use via the hospital computer system.

Drug utilization reviews are routinely conducted by the pharmacy with P & T Committee approval. Generally, a particular drug, therapeutic class, or specific use will be targeted. For example, a recent drug utilization review focused on CDC Recommendations for the appropriate Use and Monitoring of Vancomycin.

POISON CONTROL CENTER

The Department of Pharmacy is also the site for the Mid-America Poison Center. The poison control center, established in July 1982, answers over 30,000 calls a year from health care professionals and lay public throughout the State of Kansas. Questions range from children accidentally ingesting a household product to suicides and environmental hazards.

The Poisindex7 and Identidex7 computerized data systems are among the many toxicology references utilized. The poison center is staffed by Certified Poison Information Specialists and pharmacists specially trained in toxicology. In addition, various consultants are available in the following areas: medical, toxicological botany, herpetology, mushroom poisoning and industrial exposure. Information is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by dialing extension 6633.

ADVERSE DRUG REACTION REPORTING

To insure continued patient drug therapy safety and to fulfill the role of a major medical center in the promotion of good health care, all Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) must be reported. The Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee has defined an adverse drug reaction as: any untoward reaction which is associated with drug therapy and meets any of the following criteria.

1) Requires treatment with prescription medication
2) Results in or prolongs patient hospitalization
3) Results in permanent or temporary disability
4) Results in patient death
5) Requires reporting to the Food and Drug Administration

These reports may include reactions already listed in the package insert. A causal relationship DOES NOT have to be established between the drug and the reaction, it may only be suspected.

If the patient is on multiple drug therapy, the most likely agent or agents should be listed. Any physician, nurse, pharmacist or other health care professional identifying a POSSIBLE adverse drug reaction can file a report. An ADR report may be filed by telephone or by completing a form.

1)Phone - Call ext. 2328 and provide data regarding the reaction. A form will be completed by a Drug Information Pharmacist.

2)Form - Forms are kept on all nursing units and in recovery rooms. The time to complete a form is minimal. The patient’s addressograph, the name of the reporter and the name of the institution reporting the ADR is held confidential and protected from public disclosure. Completed forms should be given to the Pharmacy Department by placing them in the Pharmacist’s order bin on the nursing unit.

Reporters can designate that the reaction should be reported to the FDA by checking the appropriate box. The more detailed FDA reporting form will then be completed by the Pharmacy Department.

Any questions concerning ADVERSE DRUG REACTION reporting should be referred to the Drug Information Center (extension 2328).

All adverse reactions reported will be monitored by the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERNAL MEDICINE PRESCRIPTION WRITING GUIDELINES

The following guidelines are provided by the American Society of Internal Medicine and the American Pharmaceutical Association to guide prescribers in writing prescription orders:

1) The name and strength of the drug dispensed will be recorded on the prescription label by the pharmacist unless otherwise ordered by the physician.

2) Whenever possible, specific times of the day for drug administration should be indicated. e.g. "Take one tablet at 8:00am, 12 Noon, and 8:00pm." is preferable to "Take one tablet three times daily".

3) The use of potentially confusing abbreviations is discouraged (e.g., qid, qod, qd).

4) Vague instructions which are confusing to the patient should be avoided (e.g., "Take as necessary" or "Take as directed").

5) The indication, symptom or intended effect for which the drug is being used should be included in the instructions whenever possible (e.g., "Take one teaspoonful at 9:00am, 1:00pm, 5:00pm and 9:00pm for cough").

6) Metric system measurements (mg, ml, etc.) should be used instead of outdated apothecary system measurements (grs,oz,etc.).

7) A prescription should specify whether or not it is refillable. If so, the number of refills authorized should be indicated. Statements such as "Refill PRN" or "Refill ad lib" are discouraged. (State regulations limit the validity of any prescription to one year from the date of issuance).

8) A separate prescription blank should be used for each drug prescribed.

9) When hospital prescription blanks are used, the prescriber should print, as well as sign, his or her name, phone number and DEA registration number on the prescription blank.

 

QUICK REFERENCE

PHARMACY TELEPHONE NUMBERS

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Extension
PHARMACY ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES ............	2330
INPATIENT PHARMACY - 24 hr. Service .................	2321
OUTPATIENT PHARMACY .......................................	2361
DISMISSAL PRESCRIPTIONS ..................................	2360
DOCTOR’S PHONE-IN LINE .....................................	2375
OUTPATIENT FAX LINE (Dismissal prescriptions) ..	2385
DRUG INFORMATION ...............................................	2328
DRUG INFORMATION FAX ......................................	2350
MID-AMERICA POISON CONTROL CENTER .......	6633

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