Pac-2 algorithm calculator

[Jess]

While reading up on my local news, I came across an article about a nifty little gadget called the Pac-2. Its still new and there is not a whole lot of information about it. But with the information I did find, I would still like everyone's opinion on what impact this device could have on EMS. It can be negative or positive! Lets hear it all! There is a link there to watch the video, I highly advise doing that as well. I will be doing more research on it and will provide you all with more information as I find out!

World-Changing Medical Marvel

05.22.2007

Reported by: Steve Trainor - WMBD / WYZZ-TV Peoria

Watch video of News Report: http://www.wmbd.com/media_player.php?media_id=1927

Read complete article at http://www.wmbd.com/content/fulltext/?cid=2478

We trust doctors and nurses to give correct medication doses -- but mistakes can and do happen. Sometimes a small mistake at a critical time can cause illness... Or even death. But a Peoria nurse has invented something that could save lives and change the medical world.

Most of us couldn't do what medical folks do -- much less under the pressure they have to do it. Nurses at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria give each other orders while standing over a medical mannequin.

They're are testing each other in a controlled, simulated scenario -- a critical care situation to evaluate a new, bedside device...the Pac-2 algorithm calculator by InformMed.

Kathy Francis, a Registered Nurse, is Pac2 Inventor and says it'll save lives. The Pac2 checks the information for veracity, for validity and produces a warning.

A warning if the dose isn't right...or confirmation if it is. In emergency rooms, intensive care units, ambulances...seconds count and the pressure is intense. They've got to calculate the safe dose, how the dose should be administered, plus consider how meds interact, and recall important medication information. Kathy adds, "In emergencies when their patients are suffering and in need of the highest level of care." She thought there had to be a better way to avoid the human mistakes she saw every day.

Researchers don't yet know the percentage of cases with medication errors -- but whatever it is...the Pac-2 is expected to drastically cut it down:We expect to see a minimum of a 50%, maybe as high as a 80% reduction in errors.

The Pac-2 was five years in the making. Inform-med hopes to make it available by the end of the year. A 100-bed hospital could buy 30 of them for about $500,000. [CORRECTION: A medium size hospital could install the InformMed system for about $500,000. The number of devices is dependent on each hospital's implementation plan.] Nurses picked the color so it would stand out in a hospital environment. Those involved say it couldn't have happened without the collaboration of the OSF-College of Nursing, the U of I's College of Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Illinois. [web:ee6542541f]http://www.week.com/news/local/12370851.html[/web:ee6542541f]

[Just Plain Ruff]

you know I'm sorry but mistakes happen and we are all human but..... anything that could decrease the amount of errors that are made is not all that bad.

I work on one of the most intensive and expensive healthcare software system in the world (the Cerner system) and even with their medical IT experts it's hard to get rid of all mistakes.

checking the patients medical record, checking their med admin record and profile, going into the drug admin system like Pyxis and choosing the right drug and then verifying the patient and medication again before giving it should help with decreasing errors.

In the field, it's more difficult but in my 16 years of EMS work I had two medication errors.

Those who have multiple medication errors are just plain careless and should not be giving medications anyway.

that's all I have to say right now because I'm getting ready to go to bed.