ASKLEPIOS KLINIKEN HAMBURG GMBH

The Asklepios Kliniken Hamburg GmbH consists of 10 hospitals in the Greater Hamburg area. With about 405.000 patients it's the largest healthcare provider in Hamburg.

Cypro is deployed in 2 pharmacies and 3 hospitals that are connected to the pharmacies via a centralized database. Each pharmacy supplies several hospitals.

The main reasons for implementing Cypro were to reduce prescription errors, ensure high preparation quality with the gravimetric preparation process and to increase efficiency in the daily work of clinicians.

Successful implementation

In the beginning of 2005 Cypro was deployed as a stand alone solution within several Asklepios hospitals that sent orders online via a local network to the pharmacy.  Later Cypro was integrated with the Hospital Information system using a HL7-Interface.

From the beginning of 2009 the medication orders can be separated to the 2 pharmacies depending on the utilisation of the workbenches located there. This enables the pharmacies not only to prepare for their 'own' hospitals but also for all other hospitals of the Asklepios Kliniken Hamburg GmbH.

Booking information can either be sent to the material management system or manually entered for specific requests like trials.

Increased preparation quality

The most significant benefit that Cypro brought to the Asklepios Kliniken was the high and guaranteed preparation quality and the reduction of prescription errors due to standardised protocols and the automatic calculation of correct doses.

The pharmacies of the Asklepios Kliniken achieve a maximum of quality and an increase in preparation safety by employing the gravimetric method of preparation that Cypro supports.  It also enables the safe and efficient use of rest vials and includes automatic documentation during the preparation process, including for example batch name, amount, storage and stability data.

To guarantee safety in the administration of medication the labels are automatically printed after preparation is complete, containing all significant information and a barcode with Cypro's preparation batch number.

Implementing a CPOE System

Another benefit that the use of Cypro has brought to the Asklepios Kliniken is the implementation of an electronic prescription system. This increases the safety in the prescription process by using standardised protocols giving physicians immediate access to the patients’ prescription history and supporting them by automatically calculating the correct dose for each patient.

To simplify the choice of treatment protocols for the physician each protocol is assigned to the section it is used in. Only the Asklepios Kliniken pharmacies have unlimited access to all protocols.

Although the ordered prescription from the physicians are immediately visible in the pharmacy the Asklepios Kliniken don't forego printed and signed orders from the physicians generated by Cypro. These are needed for trial and private ambulatory invoicing as well as for the health care providers on the wards.

Reliable partnership

The relationship between Asklepios Kliniken and the Cypro has grown increasingly stronger with an expanded implementation and intense usage of the system. The close collaboration both on the clinical and pharmaceutical side as well as on the IT side have ensured that the implementation of Cypro with the Asklepios Kliniken Hamburg have been a great success that reaps benefits for the hospitals, the pharmacies and their staff.