Omnicare Clinical Services Podcast Series

In this episode, we explore the vital role of wellness in post-acute and assisted living care for the nurses and caregivers who support them every day. The discussion highlights how emotional, physical, and social well-being directly impacts long-term care professionals. Staff wellness is just as essential as the quality of care provided—and it profoundly influences the care residents receive.

In this episode, we dive into the latest infection control updates from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), focusing on the newly expanded Enhanced Barrier Precautions (EBP) for skilled care facilities. These precautions are designed to reduce the transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). We will explore: What EBP entails and how it differs from traditional contact...

In this episode, we dive into the critical issue of antibiotic overprescribing in long-term care. Inappropriate use of antibiotics can lead to serious consequences—like C. diff infections, harmful drug interactions, and antibiotic resistance. For older, more vulnerable residents, these risks can significantly impact their quality of life, limiting their ability to participate in daily activities,...

Staying on schedule during medication pass is one of the most common challenges in long-term care. In this episode, Sue and Denise explore why timely medication administration is critical for resident safety. They also share practical strategies that both leadership and frontline staff can use to improve time management and streamline the med pass process.

For today’s topic, we will be discussing the process of Admitting a Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) patient to your facility. We will review what TPN is, when it is typically chosen as a nutritional option for residents, and considerations for needed admission documentation, storage considerations, and general tips for caring for your TPN residents.

In this episode, we will be discussing dehydration in the elderly. We will discuss the prevalence of dehydration in the elderly population, and the importance of prevention and identification of early signs and symptoms that may lead to better outcomes and prevention.  And finally, we will discuss key strategies that will optimize patient safety and improve quality care for our elderly population.

In this episode we will discuss some risk factors for developing osteoporosis, signs and symptoms of osteoporosis, and treatments available after being diagnosis with osteoporosis. .

In this episode, we discuss strategies to incorporate in the daily care of our resident's to reduce or prevent falls, assessment of the resident and the importance of educating the resident to prevent falls.

In this episode, we discuss assessment best practices, the types of pain and how a resident might describe each type of pain, complications of pain, common medications and their side effects. We will also talk about non-pharmacological interventions for pain. 

The Center for Disease Control (or CDC) estimates that one third of residents in long term care has heart failure and approximately 1 in 4 persons will develop heart failure in their lifetime. Today, our discussion will cover how to recognize and signs and symptoms of heart failure and understanding the treatment options (and teaching opportunities) in post-acute care settings. 

Omnicare nurse experts we will be discussing the safe administration, storage, and handling of Flu vaccines.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an annual influenza vaccine is the "best protection" to reduce the risk of influenza and its potentially serious complications. This information is intended to help provide important guidance toward safe administration, sto...

For today’s topic, we will be discussing depression as it relates to our older population, recognizing signs and symptoms, and nursing assessment & interventions to ensure patient safety and improve patient care.

For today’s topic, we will be discussing psychotropic medications as they relate to nursing considerations for behavior monitoring, side effect tracking, and care planning for the care of your residents taking psychotropic medications.

For today’s topic, we will be discussing chronic kidney disease and nursing considerations for the care of residents with this diagnosis.

For this topic, we will be discussing the importance of anticoagulant therapy, what it is, what to avoid, what to watch for, and what to report.

Continuous Glucose Monitors are small devices that are affixed to a patient’s skin to continuously monitor glucose levels in real-time. Its accuracy has been validated and usage has increased in recent years. CGM is a useful option for many people with diabetes. Based on customer demand for information about CGM devices.  It’s our hope that we will be able to answer questions you may have or provi...

According to the American College of Preventive Medicine, “vaccines are considered to be one of the most successful advancements in the history of public health”. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes Vaccine Confidence as “the belief that vaccines are effective, safe, and part of a trustworthy medical system”. This episode discusses Vaccine Confidence by providing key inf...

In this episode, we will discuss vaccine handling, storage, and administration including the indications for RSV, influenza, and COVID-19 vaccines. Some questions answered are, how they administered, tips from the CDC, contraindications and precautions, minimizing adverse events, and, though rare, how to address the possibility of anaphylaxis. In addition, we will provide resources that every faci...

Because patient safety is always an important topic!  This episode covers the how and why of priming insulin pens.  Correct usage of insulin pens is important because it helps prevent under dosing and overdosing, and for ensuring the insulin delivery is consistent and effective for managing blood sugar levels. 

Today's episode contains a ton of crucial education for you and your facility staff regarding IV tips and best practices. Administering IV medications can be quite complex depending on the therapy.  Today’s podcast is a concise summary of the most important tips that Omnicare Infusion Educators wanted to share with our listeners. You'll find answers to questions you didn't even know you had!

For today’s topic, we will be unraveling any confusion revolving around catheter flushing and locking orders.  We will discuss the difference between flushing and locking. “Flushing” and “Locking” are not the same.  How can you leverage the use of your eMAR to trigger the correct order? What must the prescriber’s order include? Why does Omnicare still utilize heparin in their IV protocols to lock...

Today's episode will cover the vascular access services that Omnicare offers and will answer your questions such as: Does Omnicare employ vascular access nurses to perform this service?  How would a facility contact an agency? What happens when the agency nurse arrives at one of our centers and how log does it take? Who is responsible for obtaining consent? 

As a facility leader, you strive to ensure that your clinical staff are consistently providing competent care. How can you leverage the resources provided by Omnicare to objectively validate facility infusion education and staff knowledge and improve care outcomes?  Listen to today's podcast, where we will discuss the facility assessment of staff infusion education and competencies as they relate...

Omnicare Consultant Pharmacists have created a library of tools for customers to help optimize the medication pass, which can improve efficiency, reduce waste, and lower the risk for medication errors. This podcast reviews the tools to determine how your med pass can improve the focus on resident care.

This episode marks the launch of Omnicare's "One Pump. One Patient." campaign which is directed at mitigating the risk of transmitting pathogens through the improper use of infusion pumps.