Sliding scale vitals check on medication orders

This feature ensures staff will enter required vitals information and have specific guidelines for dosage when recording medication administration in Pass Meds.

When adding a sliding scale vitals check to a medication order, staff will be prompted to administer specific doses of the order based on vitals readings. This is especially helpful for medications prescribed to treat Diabetes. 

Sliding scale vitals checks can be added to medication orders when you go to process the medication from the Pharmacy Inbox. They can also be added when you edit an order from a resident's Manage Orders page.

Add a sliding scale vitals check

Note that this below example refers to the Manage Orders page, however you would follow the same Check Vitals and Scheduling & Dosage setup steps when processing a new order from the Pharmacy Inbox.

First, navigate to a resident's Manage Orders page by using the Medications menu > Manage Orders. Searching for the resident's name in the center dropdown of the Manage Orders page, or navigate to a resident's profile and click on the Manage Orders button below the resident's photo.

• If you are manually creating an order, click +Add button.
• To edit an existing order, locate the medication and click Edit button.

Next, update the Check Vitals and Scheduling & Dosage sections to set the sliding scale parameters. 

Check Vitals

After updating other fields for this medication order, locate the Check Vitals toggle at the bottom of the Routine (or PRN) Information section.

1. Move the Check Vitals toggle to "Yes." 
2. In the Check Vitals at Med Pass section that appears, select the vital for which you will set the sliding scale.
3. Review and set the Scale Type. If you want to include parameters, such as a Minimum, Maximum, or a Range, this will provide an alert for staff should they enter a vital outside of the set parameters.

Note that selecting Check Vitals at Med Pass alone will only create a required vitals check in Pass Meds for this order. To set up the sliding scale system, you will also need to update the Scheduling & Dosage section.

Scheduling & Dosage

In the Scheduling & Dosage section, first be sure to review the Drug Unit of Measurement, Start and End Date, and Interval. Update these and other fields as needed. 

1. In the Dosage Type menu, select Sliding.
2. In the Vitals menu, select the vital that must be recorded in correlation with the dosage. In the above example, Blood Glucose Level is selected.
3. Add the time the vital will be checked and medication will be administered.
   • • • To add multiple administration times, click the +Add Another Time button to the right.
       • If the sliding scale is different for each administration time, select the Sliding scale is different per time checkbox. This will populate the Min. Value, Max. Value, and Dose fields per administration time.
4. Type in the Min. and Max. Values for vital recordings and the corresponding Dose for that range. 
5. To add more sliding scale doses, click the green plus sign next to the first range of vitals values that were added. This will populate another line for the Min. Value, Max. Value, and Dose fields. You can add as many sliding scale doses as needed. 

Be sure to click the Update Order button on the bottom righthand side of this page to save.

Sliding scale in Pass Meds

When administering a sliding scale order in Pass Meds, ALIS will now require staff to enter the vital value and click Save Vitals before recording the medication as Passed or not. Once the vital value is saved, the Dose Administered field will populate according to the sliding scale system you set up.  

Related Articles: 

• Manage Orders 
• How to Process Order Messages
• How to enter a tapering dose medication 
• How to Pass Meds

For more assistance with Medication Orders,

Contact our ALIS Customer Success Team:

888.404.ALIS (2547) or support@medtelligent.com