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Neonatal
Assistant is a physician drug order entry program for use in
hospitals with large Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU).
This specialized software was created to meet the need of a
major teaching hospital in North Texas, and has
been in use there for over three years. It is now being
used in several hospital systems in North and East Texas.
Physicians use the program to enter medication orders directly
into a computer system shared by the pharmacy department.
The advantage of this is three-fold. First, errors due to
poor handwriting are nonexistent. Second, rules-based
formulas specific to each facility perform prospective analysis
of each order. Finally, workflow is streamlined, thereby
reducing time and costs for physicians and pharmacy staff.
Prior
to implementation of this application, physicians spent a great
deal of time filling out an NCR preprinted order form based on
the needs of the infant. These orders require many complex
and tedious calculations to ensure that the correct amounts of
all ingredients are used. Once an order was received in
the pharmacy, pharmacists had to enter the information into the
pharmacy computer, verify the calculations and dosages, and
contact the physicians for any changes or corrections. A
great deal of time was spent on the phone trying to reach the
physician to clarify or correct the order and then informing the
nursing staff of the changes. This time consuming process
has now been streamlined enough to allow the pharmacy to focus
four hours a day of pharmacist time on other activities.
This translated into a savings of approximately $30,000 after
the first year of implementation.
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The software offers up to four modules. The
first module, which is standard, is the TPN Order Entry module.
The primary use for this application is to enter Total
Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) orders for neonates whose nutrition
is maintained by intravenous (IV), or non-oral, means. This IV
fluid contains amounts of electrolytes, protein, carbohydrates,
vitamins and minerals specific to the needs of each neonate.
Additional additives and drugs can be included. Calculating and
writing these orders takes a great deal of time and effort on a
daily basis, as the needs of these patients can change on a
daily basis.
The second module, which can be purchased
separately, is the kinetics program. This application
assists the pharmacist or physician in calculating doses of a
group of drugs that can cause kidney or hearing damage if not
dosed correctly. The data needed is multifaceted and the
calculations used are complex. Data collected and entered
into the computer includes: time of blood sample collection and
amount of drug in the blood before the intravenous (IV) infusion
and after, length of infusion, kidney function, dose and current
dosing schedule. Using the Sawchuk-Zaske single
compartment dosing model the program recommends a dose and a
dosing schedule is calculated. The rules-based program is
individualized to the requirements of the facility.
The
third and fourth modules, which are also optional, include an
antibiotic dosing program to assist in preventing errors in
antibiotic orders and a program to calculate doses of emergency
drugs, based on the current weight of the neonate, to be printed
daily and posted at the bedside of the patient in the Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit. |
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Neonatal
TPN Order Module
(Standard) |
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Pharmacokinetic Dosing Module
(Optional) |
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Uses Sawchuk-Zaske single compartment dosing model.
- Uses patient specific elimination rates rather than average population kinetics values.
- Recommends dose and frequency but allows ajustment based on physician chosen parameters.
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Calculates projected Cmax and Cmin values for future dosing as well as coverage time above MIC of organism (an important factor in reducing bacterial resistance).
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Antibiotic Dosing Module
(Optional) |
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Emergency
Medication Dosing Module
(Optional) |
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Provides a systematic method for ensuring all emergency medications are calculated both quickly and correctly.
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Creates patient specific prospective dosing sheets for all emergency medications based on weight, which can be generated daily and placed at the bedside.
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Custom Modules
(Optional) |
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| Minimum System Requirements |
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| Preferred |
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Neonatal
Assistant Demo (Size: 15.5M)
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Demo Username: 1234
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Demo Password: 1234
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Note: To install on Windows NT/2000/XP systems, you must have Administrator privileges.
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