Pharmacology for Technicians: Urgent Medications – Send Now!

Many hospitals disperse medications to the floors or units via pneumatic tube stations for administration by the nurses. It is common for hospitals to establish a system for each unit where ‘next’ doses can be sorted, but sometimes medications are not sent in a timely fashion. One solution is to create a list of “tube now” medicines, but this can be overlooked by pharmacy technicians if they don’t understand why certain medications are more urgent than others. There are many different reasons why, in a hospital, certain medications are more urgent than others. Sometimes there are restrictions or limitations of a particular medicine, a specific patient may be especially sick or injured, and sometimes diseases or situations are exceptionally delicate. This session will discuss the urgent nature of certain medications in the acute care setting – including why they are urgent, what they are used for, and the context for the urgent need. After attending this session, pharmacy technicians will be more confident in their ability to participate in timely medication delivery.