Eyeworld Daily News

EW SHOW DAILY 16 Monday, May 9, 2016 ASOA News Today by Vanessa Caceres EyeWorld Contributing Writer Best Practices of Medication Man- agement in the Ophthalmic ASC." Ms. Benze visits ASCs around the country to help them stay in compliance with the many regu- lations that affect ASCs, including medication-related rules. I f you have an ambulatory surgi- cal center (ASC), watch out for those common medication mis- takes that could lead to prob- lems during surveys or visits from regulatory agencies, said Crissy Benze, RN, BSN, Progressive Surgical Solutions, during "Challenges and Here are some of the recom- mendations from Ms. Benze to boost your medication-related regulatory compliance in the ASC. 1. Have a written agreement with a consulting pharmacist. Al- though federal regulations don't require this, some states do, and Ms. Benze finds it is common for ASCs to have a consulting phar- macist who will visit at least quar- terly. Your consulting pharmacist can help look for out-of-date medications ("You'll always find at least 1," Ms. Benze said), assist with drug shortages, and discuss cost-containment opportunities as the price of eye drops continues to skyrocket. 2. Create a system to track pa- tient's medication allergies. Any medication allergies as well as reactions should be prominently noted on the document or chart. As tedious as it may seem, aller- gies should be updated at each patient encounter. Consider visual cues to help track allergies, such as stickers on the patient chart or even different-colored wristbands that patients can wear in the office to indicate they have a particular allergy. Ms. Benze has also seen wristbands used effectively to indi- cate if a certain patient should not have his or her eyes dilated. 3. Keep on hand a list of common- ly confused drug names. The Institute for Safe Medication Prac- tices has a list of these commonly confused names on its website. Commonly confused drugs should be labeled throughout the facility, including on anesthesia and crash carts. 4. Track your controlled substanc- es closely. This includes keeping them in secure storage, having controlled access at all times, and managing and documenting waste, Ms. Benze said. Also, main- tain an orderly inventory sheet for controlled substances. "Keep it as clean and as straightforward as possible," she said. 5. Monitor when you'll use pre- drawn medication. "Pre-drawn medications should be used with- in 1 hour of preparation, and they should be prepared as close to the time of use as possible," she said. 6. Check your crash carts and anesthesia carts monthly for expired medications and to make sure all necessary supplies are there. During consultations, some common mistakes that Ms. Benze and her colleagues have seen in ophthalmic ASCs include: • Expired medications • Unlicensed staff administering eye drops • Balanced salt solution bottles prepared with other medica- tions (such as vancomycin) at the beginning of the day for the entire surgical schedule instead of waiting until an hour before it is needed • Unsecured medical refrigerators • Multiple-dose medications open for longer than 28 days • Unlabeled syringes used by the anesthesia provider EW 6 tips for better medication compliance in the ophthalmic ASC A SOA announced its new president is Daniel Chambers, MBA, COE, Key Whitman Eye Center, Dallas. The immediate past president is John Bell, MBA, COE, North Suburban Eye Associ- ates, Wakefield, Massachusetts. The president elect is William Koch, COE, CPC, Texas Retina Asso- ciates, Dallas. Vice president is Karen Bachman, COE, COMT, The Eye Institute of Utah, Salt Lake City. Members at large of the ASOA board of directors include Deborah Davis, COE, OCS, Atwal Eye Care/ Buffalo Eye Care, Buffalo, New York; Trish Daniels, CPC, CCP, Riverside Eye Center, Sebastian, Florida; and Janna Mullaney, COE, COA, Katzen Eye Group, Towson, Maryland. The ASOA board also includes Donald Bell as the ASCRS liaison, Karen Butler, LPN, COE, Crew & Boss Eye Associates, Big Rapids, Michigan, as the National Board for the Certification of Ophthalmic Executives (NBCOE) liaison, and Laureen Rowland, CAE, ASOA execu- tive director. Founded in 1986 by admin- istrators for administrators—and ASOA announces new board Daniel Chambers, MBA, COE celebrating its 30th anniversary this year—ASOA is the premier organi- zation for the business side of the ophthalmic practice. Serving phy- sicians, administrators, managers, and other practice and clinic staff, its mission is to advance the skills and professionalism of ophthalmic management. ASOA's tagline says it best— Focusing on the BUSINESS of Ophthalmology. Currently, ASOA services more than 2,800 practice management staff across the U.S. and abroad. EW Ms. Benze discusses medication management at ophthalmic ASCs.

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