Pediatric Informatics: Computer Applications in Child Health (Health ...

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context of medication delivery include: receipt of drugs from pharmacy, retrieval of
locally stored drug doses intended for patients, checking, and matching of drug doses
to patients according to schedule, checking for contraindications, administering the
medication properly, recording administered doses, and monitoring the patient.
Nursing information needs include: general disease and drug-specific knowledge
and patient-specific data regarding medications and other care (Chapter 28).
27.3 Pharmacy Information Systems (PharmIS)
Pharmacy information systems (PharmIS) 2–4 are computerized systems that support
the management and dispensing of drugs, including inventory, reporting, and cost
tracking. In many cases, they are comprised of a central database (data on drugs
in the formulary), interfaces (views) that provide access to information (such as
inventory reports) and clinical decision support (CDS). PharmIS may act as a
standalone system (accessible to pharmacy staff only) and/or may be connected to
computerized provider order entry (CPOE), electronic medical records (EMR) and/
or electronic medication administration records (eMARs) as part of an integrated
health information technology (HIT) system.
27.3.1 Central Database
The central database manages current and detailed information about drugs used
within an institution. Functions of the central database should include the ability to:
Store and make available pharmacologic knowledge about formulary drugs,
including drug interactions and patient information sheets in a form accessible
to users (according to language and literacy levels)
Import and update drug information from commercially available data
dictionaries
Link patient-specific drug information, including current diagnoses, medications,
allergies, and contraindications and nonformulary drugs
Track cumulative dosages of identified drugs (such as chemotherapy)
Newer functionalities include abilities to:
Interoperate with other data systems, such as ePrescribing networks and pharmacy
benefits management systems
Provide paperless package inserts
Pediatric specific functionality should include:
Weight and body-surface area based dosing information and calculation support
Age-based pharmacologic data