Definition
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
automated medication dispensing system (AMDS)
A secure, locked storage cabinet of designated drugs on a nursing unit whose software can track on a nursing unit whose software can track the dispensing and administration of each dose of medication to each patient
Cart fill list
A daily printout of all patient profiles
Director of Pharmacy
Also known as the pharmacist in Charge (PIC) the chief executive officer of the hospital pharmacy department
discharge order
An order written by a physician that provides take-home instructions, including prescribed medications and doses for a discharged patient
drug formulary
A list of approved medications for use within the hospital; this list is approved by the P&T Committee
Electronic Health Record (EHR)
Computerized health information record to share patient information amoung authorized healthcare providers to better coordinate health care.
eMAR
An online record that documents the administration time of each drug to each nursing patient care station or floor
floor stock
Medications stocked in a secured area at each nursing patient care station or floor.
home infusion pharmacy
A specialty pharmacy set up particularly to serve home healthcare dispensing
Home Medications
A patient’s medications brought from home to continue use while in hospital
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
A committee of the hospital that ensures that appropriate protection is provided to patients using protection is provided to patients using investigational drugs; sometimes referred to as the Human Use Committee.
intake record
Documentation by the nurse upon admission to the hospital
IV admixture
A centralized pharmacy service that prepares IV TPN, and hazardous preparations in a sterile, cleanroom work environment
investigational drug
A drug used in clinical trials that has not yet been approved by the FDA for use in the general population, or a drug used for non-approved indicaitons
The Joint Commission
An independent governing body that sets standards for quality patient care and safety in hospitals and other healthcare facilities; this organization is responsible for the accreditation of hospitals
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 demographics, hospital room number, physician notes, problem list, medication orders and list, nursing assessments, and discharge.
Medication order
a prescription written in the hospital setting
Nonformulary drug
a drug not included on the hospital’s drug formulary
par levels
the minimum restock and maximum reorder levels for each drug on each nursing unit
Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee
a committee of the hospital that reviews, approves and revises the hospital's formulary of drugs and maintains the drug use policies of the hospital
Pick station
an area of the inpatient pharmacy that houses frequently prescribed formulary drugs in commercially prescribed formulary drugs in commercially available unit dose packaging, thus allowing efficient medication cart filling by more than one technician.
policy and procedures manual
an online or written, step-by-step set of instructions for pharmacists and technicians alike on all operations within the pharmacy department.
Quality Assurance (QA)
a system of procedures, activities feedback, and oversight that ensures that operational and quality standards are consistently met
STAT order
a medication order that is to be filled and sent to the patient care unit immediately