Cerner Donates Pharmacy Information System to Provide Safeguards for Athletes
And to Create Reporting Capabilities
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The 2002 Winter
Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002 might go down as the most secure,
the most patriotic . . . and the most wired.
Pharmacists at the University of Utah's Olympic Village Polyclinic, the
selected medical provider for the 2002 games, are using Cerner Corporation
technology to manage and track all drugs dispensed at this year's Olympics and
Paralympics (games for elite athletes with disabilities). Pharmacy activity
has never been automated at this level in the history of the Olympics. Cerner
donated its PharmNet(R) retail pharmacy application to fully automate the
pharmacy dispensing process.
Included in the advanced pharmacy system are several safeguards for
athletes and their coaches. PharmNet features electronic alerts that fire when
an athlete orders a drug that contains a substance prohibited by the
International Olympic Committee. While many common prescriptions such as
Sudafed are included on this list, the PharmNet alert system provides warnings
to prevent potential substance violations. When an alert fires, it signals
pharmacists to contact the athlete's physician. The information system also
includes Cerner Multum(TM), a comprehensive drug database that protects the
athletes by checking for potential interactions with other medications, as
well as with listed allergies and foods. An electronic notice alerts the
pharmacist if the system registers a potential interaction, protecting the
athletes from serious, even deadly, adverse drug reactions.
The customized system also allows Utah pharmacists to track drug use by
dosage, sport, country, time and date administered. Once the Olympics
conclude, pharmacists will trend and analyze this information and send it to
pharmacists in Torino, Italy, for the 2006 winter Olympic games. The report
that Utah pharmacists will provide Torino officials will allow them to more
effectively plan their pharmacy programs for the games. To further
accommodate athletes and their coaches, PharmNet can print drug labels in both
English and French, the official languages of the Olympics.
"Managing a pharmacy system for the more than 2,500 athletes from around
the globe requires experienced and service-minded technology that enables us
to deliver the best care possible," said Jim Jorgenson, director of pharmacy
at the University of Utah. "For the first time, we'll also be able to provide
a comprehensive pharmacy report from the 2002 Olympics and Paralympics for our
successors who manage the pharmacy for future Olympic games."
Jorgenson and his team began planning for the Olympic and Paralympic
pharmacy system nearly two years ago. In order to safely, securely and quickly
implement and host PharmNet, the Utah team chose Cerner's remote hosting
option.
"Even the Olympic games have witnessed the power that information
technology can bring to health care," said Jerry Blair, Cerner's director of
pharmacy product management. "The lasting impact that Jim and his group are
providing to Olympic and Paralympic athletes and organizers is immeasurable."
Cerner Corporation (Nasdaq: CERN) is the leading supplier of clinical and
management information and knowledge systems to more than 1,500 health care
organizations worldwide. Cerner is working to transform the health care
delivery system by increasing the quality of care, improving efficiencies,
eliminating medical error and connecting the individual to the system with
innovative information solutions. The following are trademarks of Cerner:
Cerner, Cerner's logo, PharmNet and Cerner Multum. Nasdaq: CERN,
http://www.cerner.com
SOURCE Cerner Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.cerner.com
CONTACT:
Media, Gina Leo, +1-816-201-1478,
gleo@cerner.com , or Investors, Allan Kells, +1-816-201-2445,
akells@cerner.com , both of Cerner
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