A system for monitoring and dispensing epoetin

This article describes one hospital's system of providing epoetin therapy for patients with renal failure undergoing dialysis. Nurses complete a drug dosing worksheet which alerts pharmacists to the need for both epoetin and iron dextran doses. The patient's weight and hematocrit are included on the form as are initial dose calculations made by the nurse. Pharmacists use this information for patient monitoring and double checking dose calculations. Then individually packaged unit dose injectables are prepared by pharmacy for use by nurses. A drug use evaluation for epoetin assures that appropriate use criteria are fulfilled when epoetin is used.