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Provision, to a patient who has been formally admitted to a bed in a facility, of the necessary treatment for a disease or severe episode of illness for a short period. Patients are discharged from acute care as soon as they are healthy and their condition is stable. Note: Palliative care beds and alternate level of care (ALC) beds may be classified as acute or non-acute, according to how they are designated within a given facility. |
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Non-acute care |
Inpatient care that is not of an acute nature, encompassing the following types of care: long-term care (LTC), rehabilitation, chronic care and complex continuing care. Note: Palliative care beds and alternate level of care (ALC) beds may be classified as acute or non-acute, according to how they are designated within a given facility. |
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Unit-dose system |
A drug distribution system in which medications are packaged and dispensed to the patient care unit in a single-dose, ready-to-administer form. Usually, no more than a 24-hour supply of patient-specific medication is delivered to the patient care unit at any one time. A unit-dose system may be centralized or decentralized. |
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Centralized unit-dose system |
A unit-dose system in which most medications for a specified time frame (e.g., 24 hours) are dispensed to the patient care unit from the central pharmacy. |
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Decentralized unit-dose system |
A unit-dose system in which most medications are distributed from a satellite pharmacy or from an automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) located on the patient care unit. |
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Automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) |
A computer-driven mechanical system (e.g., Pyxis, Omnicell Technologies) located in a patient care area, which stores medications, controls their release to authorized personnel and captures all transaction information. |
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Traditional drug distribution system |
A drug distribution system in which most medications are labelled and dispensed in multi-dose, patient-specific vials or similar medication containers, after a pharmacist has reviewed and approved the medication and dosage ordered for each specific patient. |
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A drug distribution system in which most medications are stocked on the patient care unit in bulk containers, from which medications can be removed and administered to patients without a pharmacist having to first review and approve the medication order for each specific patient. |
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Controlled/carded dose system |
A drug distribution system in which most medications are packaged in blister cards containing up to a one-month supply of medication. A pharmacist usually reviews and approves the medication order before a patient-specific label is applied to the card and the card is delivered to the patient. |
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Robotic automation |
An automated system (e.g., Robot-Rx, PillPick, BoxPicker) in which a robotic arm selects the correct drug from racks holding pre-packaged unit-dose medications in the form of tablets, capsules, syringes, pre-packaged liquids, vials, ampoules or patches. Barcoding systems are used to verify items that have been selected from the shelving racks by the robotic arm. |
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Pharmacy information system (PIS) |
A computer system (e.g., BDM, Cerner, Meditech, EPIC) that is used by the pharmacy to maintain an accurate record of drug dispensing activity, patient medication profiles and other relevant patient information. Reports generated from a PIS are used to track drug costs by patient or patient care unit, drug utilization patterns, and other pertinent data. |
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Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) |
Process whereby a healthcare provider enters medication orders or other instructions electronically, rather than on paper charts. |
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National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) and Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec (OPQ) standards |
Model Standards for Pharmacy Compounding of Non-hazardous Sterile Preparations and Model Standards for Pharmacy Compounding of Hazardous Sterile Preparations, which have been endorsed by NAPRA, or the standards of the OPQ (Norme 2014.01, for sterile compounding of non-hazardous products; Norme 2014.02, for sterile compounding of hazardous products). |
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Segregated
ISO |
A clean room is an environment with a controlled level of contamination that is described in terms of the concentration of non-viable particles per cubic meter at a specified particle size. A Class 7 clean room has a maximum number of particles (≥ 0.5 µm in size) of 352,000/m3. |
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Segregated
ISO |
An ante-room is a buffer room between a normal room and a clean room. Like a clean room, an ante-room has a controlled level of contamination that is described in terms of the concentration of non-viable particles per cubic meter at a specified particle size. A Class 8 ante-room has a maximum number of particles (≥ 0.5 µm in size) of 3,520,000/m3. |
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Inventory turnover ratio |
A measure of a facility’s efficiency of inventory management, calculated as follows: total annual drug expenses / average inventory value. If only a single inventory count is done in a year, efforts should be made to ensure that the inventory count is as representative as possible of the average inventory value. |
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A hospital information system (HIS) refers to an electronic system designed to manage healthcare data generated during a patient’s hospital encounter. It is a comprehensive information system used to collect, store, process, retrieve, and communicate patient care and administrative information for all hospital-affiliated activities and to satisfy the functional requirements of all authorized users in the healthcare setting |