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I’VE BEEN THINKING about my first lecture on pharmacy automation, the life work of Dr. Kenneth N. Barker, and the autographed baseball I keep on my desk.
On August 23, 2017, I received word that hospital-pharmacy icon and dear friend, Kenneth N. Barker, passed away earlier that morning. Below is a blog I wrote upon his retirement in 2009. I have made a few edits to bring it up to date. I’ve been thinking about my first lecture on pharmacy-automation, the life work […]
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I’ve been thinking about medication safety technology and beating the clock.
Sixty years ago, I enjoyed the popular ABC black-and-white television game show Beat the Clock. “America’s number one clock watcher” and host, Bud Collyer, gave contestants simple, fun assignments. On one episode, a lady had to balance a dinner plate on a pencil for fifteen seconds—before the clock “beat her.” On another, a guy had […]
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I’ve been thinking about effective (and defective) e-mails
This morning I reread a helpful blog from Well Said’s CEO, Darlene Price. Her subject line, “STAND OUT IN THE INBOX: Writing Emails That Get Results,” delivered on its promise, which is nothing new for Darlene. The first of five best practices suggested by the communication coach: “Make the subject line clear, specific, and actionable.” […]
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Robots,dogs,sci-fi and intravenous drugs
I’ve been thinking about robots, dogs, sci fi, and the intravenous drugs hospitals are pushing into patients’ veins. 2030. A robot, a dog, and a pharmacist walk into a bar. A chatty bar tender learns that his three customers comprise the entire pharmacy department of the large hospital in town. When asked what each does, the […]
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What Donald Trump and The Noosh Have in Common
I’ve been thinking about Donald, God, Goofy, and 10. Someone said, ‘The difference between God and Donald Trump is that God knows he is not Donald.’ If God Almighty is the all-knowing judge of all mankind, Mr. Trump seems hell-bent on usurping the bench, declaring everyone else wrong and stupid in oft-ungodly terms. Recently, after declaring […]
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I’ve Been Thinking – She should have been home for Christmas too
I’ve been thinking about drugs, wars, Christmases, and your hospital (the one you work in and/or the one you go to as a patient). On my daily walks, I’ve been listening to Laura Hillenbrand’sUnbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. I’m at Christmas of 1943—the year Bing Crosby’s newly recorded “I’ll Be […]
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I’ve been thinking about ….. ants, Amazon, IVs, and weed
I’ve been thinking about ants, Amazon, IVs, and weed. Whoever concluded we are direct descendants of apes must have missed Solomon’s advice about considering ants. Seriously, nonhuman primates travel light. More like ants, we humans spend our days schlepping stuff around. We pack suitcases and briefcases, pull them through airports, stow them overhead, and drag […]
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Paint the Ceilings
I’ve been thinking about pizza, ceilings, and what we want from airlines and caregivers. I am a frequent flier, United 1K, in the interest of full disclosure. Last week, I was chatting with a fellow passenger who holds the airline’s highest status—Global Services. You can guess what two road warriors who’ve endured a hundred thousand […]
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I’ve been thinking about how the work we do today may impact the world we live in tomorrow
This afternoon, I received an e-mail from my friend George Laurer (to my right), the inventor of the UPC bar code—the very same code scanned on the items I purchased this morning at Costco and Trader Joe’s. It arrived on the anniversary (June 26, 1974) of the first bar-coded product being scanned at a point […]
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I’ve been thinking about minding the gap, looking right, and a potential blind spot in the medication-use process.
There is little pedestrian about being a pedestrian in the UK. It pays to heed the painted warnings underfoot between the platforms and trains throughout the color-coded labyrinth of the famed Underground—“MIND THE GAP.” It is paramount, however, to heed the painted curbs at nearly every intersection—“LOOK RIGHT.” Perhaps you’ve had your close call […]