Pharmacy OneSource: What were the unanticipated benefits to Providence that were realized from implementing Sentri7?

Steve Pickette: I was surprised that there were issues identified in patient therapy where things could be improved that were not being caught. We expected that it would increase productivity, but we were surprised that we found things that weren't being caught before with our manual process.

Pharmacy OneSource: Please detail qualitative and/or quantitative measurements that the implementation has yielded within your organization.

Steve Pickette: Our pilot hospital saw a 90% increase in the number of weekly changes in recommended therapy by pharmacists related to lab evaluations. There was also a 43% increase in the number of weekly changes in therapy related to the appropriate indications for medications. And there was a 98% increase in changes in therapy related to appropriate use of high-risk medications, specifically aminoglycosides. These results were also unanticipated/surprising.

In addition, there was a significant impact on pharmacists' productivity. One pharmacist covers 60 patients and previously could only identify the biggest issues that were the most apparent. But since implementing the program they've been able to get deeper into that information.

Pharmacy OneSource: How has changing over to a web-based application helped?

Steve Pickette: Access to information in an efficient matter has led to improved quality. Having this access to information in a single source with an easy way to manipulate it to individual clinician's needs is valuable.

Pharmacy OneSource: Were there best practices identified over the course of your implementation that will be adopted elsewhere within the organization as a result of your success?

Steve Pickette: Sentri7 has been identified by our organization as a best practice tool and a key part of our clinical practice model for the pharmacists in our health system. It has been endorsed as a system initiative and will be implemented at all 28 facilities in our system. Overall it's an effective tool in achieving our goals in utilizing the expertise of the pharmacist.

Pharmacy OneSource: Please identify how Sentri7 is having a positive impact on the entire facility.

Steve Pickette: We have been able to document significant strides in quality improvement and patient safety using this tool by being able to utilize the expertise of the pharmacists. With the help of this tool we can more efficiently identify, prevent and resolve medication-related issues. That results in better therapy for the patient, greater success at meeting quality indicators and significant improvement in patient safety by identifying potential and actual medication errors.

Participant:
Steve Pickette, System Manager, Pharmacy Clinical Services
Providence Health and Services - Spokane, WA

If you would like to contact Steve Pickette regarding this interview, please e-mail customerservice@pharmacyonesource.com and we will forward your questions.