We just recently had a disaster drill and it was very involved. We had to prepackage several drugs. (we used jelly beans, a different color for each drug) Then we had to take them to the command station and had to pass them out to the hundreds of volunteers that came in. We also had to document everything, their information and what drugs we dispensed to them. It involved everyone in the department and we did very well. But, you have to remember that this was a drill only so people were not panicing to get their drugs like would happen in a real situation.

Name of Facility: Palos Community Hospital

City, State: community hospital

Years as a Buyer: 16+

That’s very interesting. Did the pharmacy prepackage the drugs (jelly beans) in anticipation of the disaster drill, or is that a standing policy for emergency preparedness? The reason I’m asking is that a disaster can be anything from an anthrax outbreak to a building collapse, so a standard stock of drugs ready at all times for every conceivable situation sounds very expensive, and preparing the specific drugs for the scheduled disaster defeats the purpose of the drill. A disaster is supposed to be unplanned to see how well the hospital responds to the unexpected; the entire hospital turns into a giant emergency room, gearing up for the disaster as it happens.

The documentation of the disaster victims and the drugs dispensed by Pharmacy could be something my pharmacies could learn from, instead of just dropping off a drug list. That would be perfect recordkeeping for Utilization Review and Disaster Follow-up.

Name of Facility: Summerdale Enterprises, Inc.

City, State: Publishing

Years as a Buyer: 30+

Our hospital did not know what the disaster would be ahead of time. We do have a real disaster stock area in our store room where we keep thousands of dosages of each drug that would be needed should a chemical disaster strike. (we do get some reimbursement from the Goverment for having them in stock) In this case we pulled all the drugs that we would need (each different color jelly bean) and brought them all into our Pharmacy conference room where a group of techs each took one drug and started prepacking. We pulled our techs and had a little assembly line going. As each drug was packaged it was run up to the central command area. When we had a sufficent number of each drug they started dispensing them. We continued prepackaging more until they told us that they had enough to give each victim their meds. It was rather a whirlwind in the department but everyone pitched in and it did work pretty smooth.

It's always good to hear of a department pulling together like yours did. Maybe you could share some of your procedures by writing an article about the experience. With the fires in California now, it might be a great way to get some other buyers to prepare in a similar fashion.

Great Work!

Happy Pharmacy Buyer Day!

Name of Facility: Summerdale Enterprises, Inc.

City, State: Publishing

Years as a Buyer: 30+