Physicians

Jason Rodich, M.D., is just finishing his rounds when his pager goes off. Upon examination of the screen, he sees that the hospital pharmacy is attempting to reach him. His call to the PharmD informs him that Dr. Rodich's 79 year old patient has a significantly elevated INR due to an antibiotic recently started for pneumonia, a situation complicated by a newly noted decrease in her creatinine clearance . Prior to going home, Dr. Rodich is able to check on his patient and writes a hold order, followed by an order for a lower dosage of warfarin, increased fluids, and a repeat INR..

Dr. Rodich's quick response prevents what could have become an adverse drug event. His timely action was due to the Dynamic PharmacoVigilance Module (DPV), which identified the event and its cause, and automatically notified the pharmacist when this emerging adverse clinical situation occurred. DPV works in real time, and around the clock to monitor all hospital patients, using hundreds of clinical rules, and issues highly actionable warnings and alerts when a potential adverse drug event is detected.

Round the Clock Surveillance

In the hospital setting, situations like these happen every day. Abnormal lab results and conflicting drug combinations are all too often noted only after an adverse drug event occurs. The failure to act in a timely fashion could have dire consequences-to the patient, to the physician and to the hospital.