Advantages

ORxLabels™ is designed to meet or exceed the 2015 National Patient Safety Goals , specifically Goal 3 regarding the labeling of medications. This decreases the possibility of the hospital receiving a negative score on these elements of performance. The application handles all of the following situations:

The ORxLabels™ app was designed by anesthesiologists and CRNAs as a way to comply with the increasing regulatory requirements, yet in a way that is easy, saves time, and enhances patient safety. The app is embraced by anesthesia providers because it:

The ORxLabels™ solution is designed to be very economical and requires little additional space in the already crowded O.R. environment. Leveraging the power of the ubiquitous iPhone® or iPad® avoids the expense and space that would be required for a dedicated computer. Utilizing inexpensive label printers that use thermal technology avoids the expense, space, and ink maintenance costs that are associated with larger color printers. The recommended label printers and label media offer the following advantages:

Health care facilities have employed a variety of approaches in order to comply with the requirements for JCAHO inspections regarding medication labeling. Many of these alternative approaches are expensive, cumbersome, or impractical. This leads to difficulty with anesthesia provider compliance.

The most common labeling approach requires the anesthesia provider to calculate expiration dates and times manually, then record this and other requried information on a small label that generally measures no more than half-inch in height and two inches in length. A separate roll of labels must be available for each commonly used medication. While economical, this method is time-consuming, tedious, clutters workspace, and requires constant inventory monitoring and restocking of multiple label rolls.

Another approach utilizes pharmaceutical companies for pre-drawn syringes which are pre-labeled by the company. This is an easy to use method and well accepted by anesthesia providers; however, it is cost prohibitive and has significantly reduced drug shelf life. Typically only the most common drugs are stocked in these pre-drawn syringes; thus, the need for on-site labeling still exists.

Using a dedicated anesthesia labeling system is another approach. Some of these systems are available as stand-alone devices or integrated with automated medication systems such as Pyxis® or Omnicell®. They utilize a hardware device that is composed of a computer, touch screen interface, inkjet printer, and scanner. This results in a device that is bulky, expensive, and requires regular replacement of printer ink or toner.