The medication kit conundrum: Considerations to enhance safety and efficiency.

In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.

Parenteral Beta-Lactam/Beta-Lactamase Inhibitor Ordering in Hospitals That Provide Care for Pediatric Patients.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to define current practices related to beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor (BL/BLI) dose descriptions in hospitals that provide care for pediatric patients and to identify perceived implications of standardizing BL/BLI dose communication and ordering to a total drug-based strategy.

Methods: A 27-item electronic survey was distributed via 4 pediatric pharmacy and infectious diseases listservs. Survey questions pertained to hospital demographics, dosing communication practices, BL/BLI ordering and labeling practices, obstacles to safe BL/BLI use, and the effects of potential standardization to a total drug communication strategy.

Investigating multiple sources of data for smart infusion pump and electronic health record interoperability.

Purpose: Infusion pump data, which describe compliance to dose-error reduction software among other metrics, are retrievable from infusion pump vendor software, electronic health record (EHR) systems, and regional and national data repositories such as the Regenstrief National Center for Medical Device Informatics (REMEDI). Smart infusion pump and EHR interoperability has added to the granularity and complexity of data collected, and clinicians are challenged with efficiently comprehending and interpreting the data and reports available.

Summary: Collaborative partnerships between the Indianapolis Coalition for Patient Safety and the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering allowed for clinicians, informaticists, researchers, and engineers to compare the information gained and strengths of using smart infusion pumps, EHR, and REMEDI to assess hospital medication safety in a setting of interoperability.