LVHHN Pharmacist Works Full-time to Ensure Medication Safety

Lehigh Valley, Pa. (Jan. 26, 2007) – While many people strive to eliminate redundancy in the workplace, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network (LVHHN) medication safety officer Leroy Kromis, Pharm.D., encourages it. “The more we double- and triple-check medications before they are administered, the more we ensure patients are getting the right dose of the right medication at the right time,” he says.

To promote and protect patient safety, LVHHN is one of just a handful of hospitals nationwide featuring a full-time, dedicated medication safety officer. Kromis, formerly of Duke University Medical Center, is an Allentown native and started working at LVHHN in this capacity in May of 2005. “LVHHN was addressing medication safety long before I got here,” he says. But since his arrival, Kromis has put greater emphasis on evaluating new medications to determine if they are appropriate for hospital use, educating caregivers about medication safety, and ensuring all medication regulations are followed. He also investigates any medication errors and assists caregivers in solving problems related to medication safety.

Kromis also keeps tabs on medication errors made at other hospital nationwide. He uses evidence from these cases to ensure similar errors aren’t made at LVHHN. For example, when three premature infants died at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after receiving an overdose of the anti-clotting drug heparin, Kromis collaborated with pediatric caregivers and information services colleagues to prevent such an error from happening at LVHHN. “Heparin used to be stored right on patient care units because it is also used to flush intravenous (IV) lines,” he says. “After the Methodist Hospital incident, we changed that.” Now, like all medication prescribed for patients, units must order heparin electronically through CAPOE (Computer-Assisted Physician Order Entry). Since CAPOE has been fully implemented, LVHHN has reduced overall medication errors by 20 percent.

Kromis also looks at national trends to prevent possible errors. One such example involves promethazine, a drug used for nausea and vomiting. If an IV administering promethazine is dislodged from the vein causing the drug to leak under the skin, serious consequences may result because promethazine deteriorates muscle tissue. Nationwide, 14 people have lost a limb due to such an incident. “We stopped using promethazine at LVHHN on Jan. 1 and are using alternative drugs for nausea and vomiting,” Kromis says.