We just had TCJ in for our ICM visit. The surveyor is citing us for not documenting with a witness the removal and disposal of fentanyl patches. Does anyone have a process in place that addresses this issue? Thanks so much.
Tom

Has anyone seen any guidelines for how long it is OK for mannitol to stay in a warmer? The package insert gives instruction on heating the flexible containers up to 70 degrees C and the flip top vials to 80 degrees C to dissolve crystals, but it does not mention longer term storage in a warmer. Even if you don't have a reference for it, I'd like to know what other folks are doing. Our warmer is set at 106 degrees F, but we are not currently dating the product when we add it to the warmer. Maybe we should be giving it a 14 day expiration like we do for IV fluids. Thanks

Hoping to get policies on pump integration with EMR. Sure would appreciate any sharing!

Thanks, Joanne

For those institutions compounding sterile Hazardous Drugs, do you utilize a Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC) or a Compounding Aseptic Containment Isolator (CACI) as your Containment Primary Engineering Control (C-PEC)?

What was your rationale in selecting the type ventilated device that you are using?

The pharmacy prepares 5% phenol for OR to use in conjunction with Botox (type A) for neurolysis once weekly. The problem is the stability and sporadic use. I wanted to know if anyone else is doing this procedure using a different product or have recommendations about obtaining phenol with extended stability beyond 7 days please share. Also if your institution has had good success with something else, I'd love for you to share.
This is a children's hospital.

Thanks.

DiAnthia Patrick PharmD
Childrens National Health System

Our Health System is switching from Lantus to Levemir because Lantus price increased by 6800%! In preparing for implementation of the switch, we identified a potential safety issue because the vial of the immediate-acting insulin aspart (Novolog) looks very similar to the vial of the long-acting Levemir (Lantus is a tall and thin vial which helped to differentiate it from the Novolog); both Novolog and Levemir are the same size and shape vial, lettering same font size and color.

Hello, I'd appreciate any information on how other institutions prepare hydrochloric acid infusions. We would like to standardize to 0.1 mEq/mL in a 500 mL bag.

Would anybody be willing share their medication safety scorecard that is either internal to the department, or which gets reported out to system level Quality/Safety committees?
(I'd be happy to provide a summary of all the collected responses.)

thank you!
Susan

Does anyone use an external air bubble detector for syringe pumps that do not have an integrated air bubble detection system (i.e. Alaris)?

If you do not, are you concerned about the potential risk for large air injections?

Randi Trope, DO, MBA, FAAP
Medication Safety Officer
Pediatric Intensivist
Cohen Children's Medical Center
North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System

I've been asked to put together a 1 page educational flyer for nursing about how to properly document medication allergies. I wanted to see if anyone had already done this before I reinvent the wheel. Problems we see with documentation:
-RNs document known side effects as allergies (opioids cause sedation)
-RNs document as an allergy, when "intolerance" or "contraindication" is the more appropriate classification
-If pt reports a family history of an allergic reaction to a med, RN enters it as a patient allergy