Why did you feel compelled to “do something” relative to your pre-existing IV compounding process?

Similar to how many facilities felt across the country, sudden regulatory pressures heightened in the setting of pharmacy operations and best practice recommendations were published. With this said, we grew eager to comply with these regulations and wanted to ensure safe practices were being implemented within our institution.

Describe your process for identifying the preferred vendor/partner?

Fortunately, we’ve had a successful working relationship with MedKeeper for a while now. We’ve successfully utilized their legacy products, and felt confident and comfortable with MedKeeper as our primary vendor because of the personalized software and rapid development process we’ve had with previous products.

How has the system matched to your original objectives? Do you feel the current process has improved the quality baseline, safety, and enhanced compliance requirements?

We have been able to improve our "best practice" standards and achieved a more consistent workflow model from our staff. Implementing the Verification module has allowed us to ensure Board of Pharmacy and USP<797> requirements are being met, and that compliance can be demonstrated during inspections. With access to the remote verification tool within the PharmacyKeeper solution, our clinical pharmacists are no longer required to physically stand and observe dose preparations over the shoulder of a compounding technician. Remote verification allows pharmacists to participate in more clinical bedside activities such as medication reconciliations, participate in multidisciplinary rounds, and attending codes. The enforced barcode verification step throughout the dose preparation process has caught multiple potential medication errors that could have reached the patient. Prior to implementing PharmacyKeeper Verification, the technicians were able to jump around from different compounding steps and different areas; now there is a standardized approach within the specific workflows designed to minimize or eliminate the harmful outcomes. Also, we had no recording or documentation systems or mechanisms in place prior to implementing MedKeeper. Now with the PharmacyKeeper Activities module, we have the ability to monitor and report on Pharmacy quality assurance events to meet the needs of USP<797>.