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Medication Protocols

Thank you for your interest in Abbott Northwestern Hospital's medication protocols. Direct questions about and problems with computer-related technical issues to your Information Services resources. If you have questions about protocol content or operation, please contact Shelley Shepherd, Pharm.D., M.S. at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, 612-863-5149, or email her at shelley.shepherd@allina.com.

Protocol File Format

The medication protocols are available in two formats: eMbedded Visual Basic for Pocket PC and Microsoft Excel. The protocol content is the same for both formats. Choose the format which best suits your needs.

eMbedded Visual Basic Runtime
eMbedded Visual Basic Runtime allows you to store the medication protocols in your Pocket PC. The files can be put where you want them in your Pocket PC. At Abbott Northwestern, our files are organized in folders in the Pocket PCs and accessed through hyperlinked menus.

To run the protocols, you need Microsoft eMbedded Visual Basic Runtime installed on your Pocket PC. If you use the electronic text, UpToDate, on your Pocket PC, you already have this file installed. Otherwise, access the internet and download the eMbedded Visual Basic Runtime installer onto your Pocket PC. Click here to go to the eMbedded Visual Basic Runtime download site.

If you are having trouble accessing the download site, try typing the following web address in your internet browser address window: http://msdn.microsoft.com/mobility/windowsmobile/downloads/evb.aspx. Once in the Microsoft site, search for the phrase "eMbedded Visual Basic Runtime".

Microsoft Excel
At Abbott Northwestern Hospital, medication protocols formatted as Excel workbooks are centrally deployed to personal computers on nursing stations throughout the hospital for use by nursing and pharmacy staffs to dose and monitor medications.

Depending upon how your Excel software defaults are set, you may get a message stating, "FILE NAME.xls contains macros. Macros may contain viruses. It is always safe to disable macros, but if the macros are legitimate, you may lose some functionality." Please note that these medication protocol files will only function properly if you click the ENABLE MACROS button.

Source: Medication Protocols-Abbott Northwestern Hospital

First published: 06/24/2004
Last updated: 03/16/2007

Reviewed by: Shelley Shepherd, PharmD, MS; Terry Rosborough, MD

This site is presented for information only and is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice.
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