Computer applications in hospital pharmacy practice. I. Computer expectations/applications

Following vendor selection of a pharmacy computer system, attention must be directed toward which computerized functions to include. Although most features are uniform among the various systems, a discussion is presented listing those applications considered the minimum acceptable for any hospital pharmacy computer system. The descriptions focus on computerization of those labor-intensive activities necessary to support drug distribution services. Computerized support of an intravenous (I.V.) admixture and unit dose program centers around label production and charging/crediting functions. Label production is used to generate a manual backup profile and unit dose cart fill list. The scope of information to include on I.V. and unit dose labels is described. Charging/crediting functions via computer are also discussed, with mention of free-form capabilities. Other computer applications mentioned include: medication profiling, drug interaction flagging, data confidentiality, census support, and hard copy reports. Feature selection depends on the aspects and unique needs that benefit most from computerization.