Patient Safety
At Frankfort Regional Medical Center, we’re focused on providing the highest quality care possible to our patients. We have made an organizational commitment to patient safety, investing in numerous resources such as electronic bar coding, electronic physician ordering and automated medication dispensing technology. With the addition of the smart pumps, we’re now able to provide the communities we serve with the most comprehensive infusion safety system on the market. We’ll continue to lead the way in patient safety by investing in resources for medication safety.
To learn how you can become an active participant in your healthcare, click here.
Alaris IV Pumps
Frankfort Regional has taken steps to eliminate IV medication errors. All of our IV pumps have been replaced with the Alaris “smart pump” system and Guardrails Suite. Touted as the most powerful safety advance in IV drug administration, the new pumps help protect against harm at the point of infusion delivery, help prevent errors on critical drugs, help protect against patient harm and promote hospital best-practices guidelines customized by care area. The “smart pump” system is a fail-safe dosage system, acting as an assistant to nurses and clinicians that administer IV medications at the point of care. A computer will warn the nurse or doctor if an IV infusion falls out of set dosage and infusion-rate parameters, thus preventing a wrong dose from being administered to the patient.
eMAR (electronic Medication Administration Record)
Frankfort Regional Medical Center has implemented an electronic version of the medication administration record called eMAR. This technology is part of our core pharmacy information system where all aspects about our patients medication orders are recorded. eMAR reduces medication errors through use of bar code identifiers on the patient armband and medication. Frankfort Regional is part of only a small percentage of hospitals nationwide that have bar coding medication administration.
ePOM (electronic Provider Order Management)
Frankfort Regional is implementing a system called ePOM (electronic Provider Order Management) to assist with safe administration of medications and accurate interpretation of orders. ePOM is a seamless, computer-based method for ordering which eliminates handwriting and other human errors. To use it, the physician enters the medication order directly into a computer, which double-checks the drug name and dosage amount. It also checks for duplicate orders and the patient's medical history, in order to prevent harmful drug interactions and eliminate administering a drug the person is allergic to. ePOM increases the efficiency in the time between an order being placed and its fulfillment. The order is communicated to the department required to perform the service in only three minutes.
MRSA
A new strain of antibiotic-resistant staph, or MRSA, is spread easily and is much more difficult to treat than ordinary staph bacteria. The growing prevalence of MRSA in our communities and in our hospitals is creating new challenges for the healthcare community. Frankfort Regional Medical Center has initiated more aggressive infection control protocols to tackle this issue. The hospital has also launched a proactive education campaign for patients, visitors and staff to prevent infections from occuring and spreading.
For more information and resources on MRSA, click here.
OmniCell
OmniCell Automated Dispensing Unit (ADU) is system used to store, dispense, charge and account for controlled substances, PRN medications, and certain routine medications used in patient care. Automated medication dispensing cabinets are a standard of care, used by over 70 percent of U.S. hospitals, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Omnicell’s OmniRx® systems provide healthcare facilities with advanced, flexible systems for the management of medications in the hospital’s nursing unit, helping the facility ensure patient safety, monitor and control medication dispensing, comply with JCAHO and regulatory standards, improve clinical decision-making, and ultimately improve patient care. The hospital’s central pharmacy stocks the cabinets, and nurses access medications from the cabinets prior to administration of the medications to patients.
PACS (Picture Archiving Communication System)
PACS are computers or networks dedicated to the storage, retrieval, distribution and presentation of medical images. PACS replaces hard-copy based means of managing medical images, such as film archives, and expands on the possibilities offered by conventional systems. Our Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) allows physicians to view imaging study results through a computer within minutes of the completion of an exam. In addition, the technology allows physicians to access images from their office or home. The cumbersome transporting of films is no longer required.