Robbie Harrington ER Pharmacist INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center

INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center is One of Them

July 11, 2008

The following interview with ER Pharmacist Robie Harrington explains how this saves lives.

Why does INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center think it's important to have a pharmacist in the ER?
We have been able to improve the care our patients receive in our hospital and help control costs. We are always reviewing the patient’s orders to make sure all the medications are dosed correctly, given by the correct route and given the appropriate number of times per day. We always check the patient’s labs to make sure the medications will not cause any problems. We are always reviewing the orders to make sure there aren't better treatment options for the patient. We have a very good relationship with the ER physicians. It is extremely rare for the doctors to decline our recommendations.

Do you frequently "catch" things non-pharmacists might miss?
Yes, on a daily basis. We are experts on medications and recognize problems associated with meds quickly. This may be medications ordered incorrectly, a side effect from a medication or someone taking the medication incorrectly. We are able to look very closely at one specific part of the patient's care (meds), evaluate this and report any problems back to the physician who is busy looking at the entire picture. Our physicians have time after time thanked us and spoke to administration about our role in the ER.

Do you feel your presence in the ER makes patients safer? If so, why?
Yes. For example we recently prevented 10 medication errors in one month. We were able to spend time with over 35 patients during that month reviewing their home medications and addressing potential problems. We also completed over 330 home medication reconciliation forms. This form is completed when our patients are admitted to the hospital. It is a complete list of all medications the patient is taking. When non-pharmacists fill out this form, it usually contains a lot of errors because they aren't familiar with the medications. We are able to complete the form correctly every time.

Pharmacists have been strategically placed in the INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center ER for three years now. The program has been so successful that INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center also added an ER based pharmacist. The Southwest pharmacists helped train that team, as well as the team at Norman Regional Hospital.