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Updated: Jun 9, 2026
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Improving IV Insulin Administration in a Community Hospital
Published on: June 11, 2012
Implementation and evaluation of continuous infusion automatic scheduled dispensing leveraging infusion pump
Jennifer Booth1, Jessica Brimmer1, Anuj Thirwani1
1The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
Summary
Automating continuous infusion dispensing with electronic health record integration streamlines workflows. This system reduces pharmacy communication but may increase medication returns and waste.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacy Informatics
- Health System Workflow Optimization
- Medication Dispensing Technology
Background:
- Manual tracking and electronic requests for continuous infusions create workflow inefficiencies.
- Titratable and nontitratable continuous infusions require precise and timely medication dispensing.
- Electronic health record (EHR) systems offer potential for automating dispensing processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and implement an automated scheduled dispensing workflow for continuous infusions.
- To leverage infusion pump integration within the EHR for enhanced dispensing.
- To evaluate the impact of this automated workflow on pharmacy and nursing operations.
Main Methods:
- Development and implementation of a scheduled dispensing workflow using EHR and infusion pump integration.
- Retrospective, descriptive analysis comparing pre- and post-implementation data.
- Key metrics included total dispenses, returned bags, and in-basket messages for continuous infusions.
Main Results:
- Significant reduction in nursing-to-pharmacy in-basket messages per dispense (49% at pilot, 65% at expansion sites).
- Observed increase in medication returns and wasted bags per continuous infusion dispense at both pilot and expansion sites.
- Successful integration of automated dispensing into the health system's workflow.
Conclusions:
- Automated scheduled dispensing via EHR integration streamlines continuous infusion management.
- The workflow reduces inter-departmental communication but necessitates attention to waste and returns.
- This technological advancement optimizes pharmacy operations and medication delivery.
Keywords:
automationhealth information technologyhospital pharmacy servicesinfusion pumpintravenous infusionworkflowMore Related Videos
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