By Sheri H. Stewart, CPhT

ARCHBOLD MEDICAL CENTER IS A FIVEhospital, four-nursing home health system with more than 800 beds. It employs more than 2,500 people and boasts a medical staff of more than 200 qualified specialists. Our flagship hospital is John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville, Georgia. Our affiliate hospitals, also in Georgia, are Brooks County Hospital in Quitman, Early Memorial Hospital in Blakely, Grady General Hospital in Cairo, and Mitchell County Hospital in Camilla. This past year, Archbold Medical Center implemented the Siemens MAK bedside scanning system, the use of which has since reduced our medication errors by almost 99%. However, the move to bar coded medication administration put the burden of bar coded unit dose packaging on the hospital’s pharmacy; every medication we send to our patient care areas has to have a readable bar code. To meet our bar code labeling needs, we use the M:print Labeler bar code labeling software from Pearson Medical Technologies.

We tested several bar code labeling programs available in the market, and found that Pearson Medical’s solution was by far the most user-friendly. Using the software’s “Scan and Print” Label Wizard feature, we are able to populate all of our drug-specific label fields just by scanning the bar code on the appropriate bulk bottle. An on-screen label review allows the supervising pharmacist to approve or reject the label before we begin printing. The M:Print software also tracks, records, and reports all of our packaging activities, eliminating the need for a handwritten log and providing a comprehensive database of all of our packaging runs.

We are currently using the M:Print software in conjunction with the SATO CX 400 printer. It is very simple to load and unload the labels and print ribbon. Capable of generating a variety of label sizes and types, the Windows-based M:print Labeler software allows us to bar code items, such as creams, ointments, and inhalants, that come to our pharmacy from the wholesaler without bar codes. The software has also been a lifesaver when it comes to packaging our bulk liquids in bar coded unit dose. On a daily basis, we package an average of 300 to 500 unit doses that need to be bar coded, and Pearson’s software allows us to do so efficiently.

Pearson Medical sends us quarterly NDC updates and software upgrades that allow us to use “tall man lettering” on our labels and shrink our label fonts to accommodate long generic or trade names. The software also provides us with pill images, adding another layer of safety to our packaging processes. Pearson Medical has also consistently responded quickly to our requests for additional software upgrades.

We realized how efficient the M:Print Labeler program was when we made the decision to implement the MAK bedside scanning system in our four affiliate hospitals. Those hospitals often receive medications from their local retail pharmacies. Now, using M:Print Labeler, the affiliate hospitals can package and bar code label those medications themselves, instead of sending them to Archbold Medical Center to be packaged. This has lead to an improvement in workflow efficiency at the main hospital and across the affiliate facilities.

All in all, I have been very satisfied with the team at Pearson Medical and their products. I would recommend them with confidence.

Sheri H. Stewart, CPhT, is the information systems coordinator for the pharmacy services department at Archbold Medical Center. Steward has been a certified pharmacy technician for 11 years and has worked in the pharmacy environment since 1990.