Exploring the Need for Medical Computers in Pharmacy Clean Rooms

Why Off the Shelf Solutions Won't Work in a Sterile Environment

The first clean rooms appeared in hospitals over a hundred years ago as a result of a continuous effort to prevent and control infection and disease transmission in operating rooms. Now, many industries have implemented clean rooms, and their designs evolve as technology keeps offering new tools for infection control (and regulatory bodies make requirements more stringent). Clean rooms are essential in life sciences, industrial sector (in assembly and painting), in the production of flat panel displays, space programs, photonics, and semiconductor industry.

Clean Room Computers

In hospital pharmacies, clean rooms are imperative for preventing particulate and bio-contamination of drugs during compounding. Pharmacy clean rooms achieve cleanliness through:

 Airflow control – to keep contamination out of the clean room, effective HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) and ULPA (Ultra Low Particulate Air) air filters.

 Careful selection of materials and surfaces.

 User protocols.

 Cleaning and disinfecting.

So, clean room computers should meet several essential requirements to be apt for use in the sterile environment:

Airflow control – circulation of dust, grease, and other particulates is strictly controlled in clean rooms. Therefore, clean room computers are ideal in fanless builds. Backed by an energy-efficient processor and passive cooling, fanless computers are apt for use in sterile environments of operating and clean rooms. No fans, or ventilation slots, and sealed bezels are a must for clean room PCs.

Material and surface selection – clean room computers must have as few hinges and grooves as possible. Non-porous, sturdy plastic or steel casing, and most importantly, antimicrobial coating are key features necessary for clean rooms. Clean room PCs need to ensure resistance to particulate, chemical (films, vapors), and biological (viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, foreign organic matter) contamination.

User protocols – as pharmacists wear sterile gloves, they need to be able to operate a touchscreen PC or medical grade tablet with ease, without having to remove proper clean room garments. The cleanliness required in clean rooms can be achieved through the use of antimicrobial, washable keyboards, antimicrobial touchscreen all-in-one PCs or medical grade tablets that recognize input from fingers in medical gloves, or a digitizer stylus. Voice input recognition is also an option, so clean room PCs must support the latest versions of Dragon Naturally Speaking, or other voice recognition software of your choice.

Cleaning and disinfecting – computers are allowed in the pharmacy clean rooms, but you need to ensure cleanliness. The suggested standard operating procedures in <797>, #20 says, “All procedures are performed in a manner designed to minimize the risk of touch contamination.”

Clean room computers achieve required levels of cleanliness through:

 Antimicrobial coating to resist such environmental contaminants as airborne microbes, fungi, chemical vapors, dust or aerosol particles.

 Minimum IP65 environmental rating for ingress protection of liquids and dust, sealed waterproof bezels.

 Fanless design.

 The sturdy material in casing and ability to withstand disinfection with harsh liquid chemicals required in clean rooms.

 Have minimum hinges where pathogens can reside.

The off-the-shelf computers and keyboards are known to become reservoirs for pathogens – Diphtheroid, Micrococcus and Bacillus species, Alpha Streptococci, Staphylococcus species, Aspergillus and Enterococcus species and many others. When studies, the keyboard specimens yielded 1,995 CFU of pathogens on culture, and the best disinfection is with liquid solutions.

However, not all computers are rigorous enough to withstand repeated disinfection with chemical liquids. Frequent cleaning and disinfection can have a detrimental effect on molded plastic on some PCs, causing cracks and breaks in the casing. Therefore, clean room computers should have industrial grade casing and IP rating to withstand cleaning and protect the device from damage.

Epic Willow

Another crucial requirement for clean room computers is the processing power to run Epic Willow Inpatient Pharmacy System, for short Epic Willow (formerly EpicRx). A closed-loop medication administration and ordering system, Willow links physicians and nurses ordering drugs to a single order record. Pharmacists, on the other hand, rely on Willow to monitor treatment outcomes and improve medication, patient safety, minimize costs and adverse effects.

Orders from EpicCare sync with Willow and MAR for verification and dispensing. Verified orders then are routed to appropriate outside pharmacies or dispensing devices. Pharmacy staff enjoys direct access to the chart, which enables them to play an active role in treatment as their edits are automatically updated across the EHR and immediately available to other users.

An indispensable power tool for pharmacists, Epic Willow requires that the clean room computers have the superior processing power.

Epic Willow is not the only productivity suite pharmacists need to use along with other apps simultaneously. So, medical computers require powerful processors, ample memory, storage and connectivity options.

Ideal Clean Room PC

CyberMed H24 is an EHR-ready clean room PC that meets EPIC’s ideal requirements for all-in-one workstations. Intel Core i7 CPU, SSD, and dual hard drive support provide ample resources to run EMR and other medical applications, tapping into the power of 3D medical imaging boosted by NVIDIA.

It comes with 60601-1 electrical and radiation safety, IP65 waterproof, sealed bezels, antimicrobial coating, and PCAP touch that recognizes input from medical gloved hand and stylus.

Its casing is sturdy and withstands disinfection with harsh solutions, and protects the discreet parts from liquid ingress. Fanless, it prevents the circulation of pathogens into the sterile environment of the clean room. Backed by an internal battery, it will run for up to an hour in the event of a power outage, so you can save the data and shut down properly.

Final Words

When choosing your clean room computer, ensure it meets your requirements on all fronts – design, materials, surfaces, hardware capabilities and durability. Will it withstand the required disinfection? Is it in line with your air flow control? Is its surface antimicrobial and non-porous, or rough, pitted and difficult to clean? Does it recognize input from gloved fingers?

Last but not least is the consideration of durability, failure rates and Total Cost of Ownership. The clean room is a significant investment in itself, packed with expensive equipment and regulated by stringent protocols. If you must invest in medical computers for your clean rooms, your investment should provide proportionate reliability and durability, as well as upgradeability to accommodate future needs (i.e. EPIC updates).

Cybermed’s medical computers ensure up to 8 years reliable operation, boasting less than 2% overall failure rate due to industrial grade components, extended warranties, advanced customization and upgradability options.