Hey, all you Product Managers, Inventors of Hospital Equipment Persons, Pharmacists, Accudose makers, Pyxis people, Hospital Administrators, Nursing Managers, why?
WHY--can a vending machine spit me out a coke or candy bar from the dozens stored in the machine, for a few cents, and a Pixis or Accudose makes me count dozens to hundreds of narcotics in order to retrieve one, yes only one for my patient, who is impatiently waiting for pain relief???? It takes time, it takes mental energy, it takes man-hours from the patient bedside….
And…if the exact dose is not available, (and why oh why is it not????), it takes witnesses, more secret codes, double to triple the man hours (triple because you have to find a nurse able and willing to stop what they’re doing to take the at least five or more minutes to secret code herself into the machine, witness the waste, sign and click numerous times to make the computer happy.)
AND if the patient needs this med every two hours, which is often the case, THEN add up the man hours, you do the math, I’m tired from the witness-nurse hunting and trying to explain to the patient why it takes so long to bring them the pain med I know they need. Now don’t tell me PCAs are the solution, it is not always indicated in these situations.
If I need 2mg of Morphine, why cant I have it?? Just that? it’s a controlled substance, you have a jillion dollar machine at my fingertips, its smart, its cute, it has all sorts of cubicles, self propelled doors, auto locks, touch -of -a finger screens….twirling lazy Susan’s, but with all that…nobody can figure out how to supply the busy direct care staffer with the EXACT dose of a Tightly Controlled Narcotic, one of the hot button issues of our day.., that his or her patient, in immediate pain, needs immediately?????
And that’s all I have to say about that!
