Key Terms
Admitting Order
a medication order written by a physician on admission of a patient to the hospital; may or may not include a medication order
drug formulary
a list of approved medications for use in the hospital; this list is approved by the P&T committee
Home Medications
medications brought from home to continue use while in hospital
The Joint Commission
an independent governing body that sets standards for patient care and safety in hospitals and other healthcare facilities; this organization is responsible for the accreditation of hospitals
Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee
a committee of the hospital that reviews, approves, and advises the hospital’s formulary of drugs and maintains the drug use policies of the hospital
automated medication dispensing system (AMDS)
a secure, locked storage cabinet of packaged drugs on a nursing unit whose contents are electronically tracked and administration of each dose of medication to each patient
Electronic Health Record (EHR)
computer-based health information record to share patient information among authorized healthcare providers to better coordinate health care
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
a committee of the hospital that reviews, approves, and advises on studies using investigational drugs or devices
medical chart
a hard copy or digital legal document that contains the clinical information that a hospital collects in-house and consists of patient-identifying demographic data, clinical data, medication profiles, problem lists, medication orders and list, training assessments, and discharge
Pick station
an area of the inpatient pharmacy that houses frequently prescribed, non-formulary drugs, frequently available unit dose packaging, thus allowing efficient medication order filling by more than one technician
Cart fill list
a daily printout of all patient profiles
eMAR
an online record that documents the administration time of each drug to each patient by a nurse using barcode technology
intake record
documentation by the nurse upon admission to the hospital
Medication order
a prescription written in the hospital setting
Policy and Procedure (P&P) Manual
an online or written, step-by-step set of instructions for pharmacists and technicians alike on all operations within the pharmacy department
Director of Pharmacy
also known as the Pharmacist in Charge (PIC); the chief executive officer of the hospital pharmacy department
floor stock
medications stocked in a secured area on each nursing patient care station or floor
IV admixture
a centralized pharmacy service that prepares IV, TPN, and hazardous preparations in a sterile, cleanroom work environment
Nonformulary drug
a drug not included on the hospital's drug formulary
Quality Assurance (QA)
a system of procedures, activities, feedback, and oversight that ensures that operational and quality standards are consistently met
discharge order
order written by a physician that provides take-home instructions, including prescribed medications and doses, for a discharged patient
home infusion pharmacy
a specialty pharmacy set up particularly to serve home healthcare dispensing
investigational drug
a drug in pre-clinical and clinical trials that has not yet been approved by the FDA for use in the general population, or a drug used for non-approved indications
par levels
the minimum stock and maximum reorder levels for each drug in each nursing units
STAT order
a medication order that is to be filled and sent to the patient care unit immediately