Enterprise Platform Upgrade Improves Medication Management

By Karla Paris

Upstate New York Region Hospital improves nurse, pharmacy, and patient safety by upgrading its medication automation solutions.

An Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) webinar revealed hospitals appear to be in a two-year slump when it comes to complying with potentially lifesaving medication safety standards. In 2013, the Joint Commission found as many as 35 percent of the hospitals it surveyed did not comply with medication-related standards. These rates of noncompliance remained nearly unchanged between 2012 and 2013, and the most frequent issues were related to drug storage, ordering, pharmacist order reviews, improper labeling, and medication reconciliations.

Saratoga Hospital, an acute-care facility located in Saratoga Springs, NY, believes it has found the solution to better manage its medication, announcing the selection of Omnicell as its new provider of automated medication management solutions and data analytics tools in the main hospital facility as well as its urgent care, surgery, infusion, and cancer treatment centers. This is a first for Saratoga Hospital where the hospital can, from a single central pharmacy location, manage several different medication dispensing systems providing greater efficiency to clinical and administrative staff.

The Omnicell solutions chosen by Saratoga Hospital are all part of the Unity enterprise platform which includes:

• OmniRx^® automated medication dispensing cabinets (ADCs), including the integrated Medication Label Printer that allows nurses to print patient-specific labels right from the ADC during medication issue. The ADCs also include the Touch & Go advanced biometric ID system, designed with state-of-the-art biometric technology to improve efficiency and security.
• Anesthesia Workstation automated dispensing cabinets for the operating room that are designed to provide secure, convenient access to drugs required during surgery and easy documentation of controlled substance use.
• Anywhere RN remote medication management software, a unique web-based application that allows nurses to remotely access the Omnicell dispensing cabinets at their convenience from virtually any hospital workstation, to streamline workflow and minimize interruptions that can lead to medication administration errors.
• SinglePointe patient medication management software which handles and secures up to 100 percent of a patient's medications within the automated dispensing cabinets to improve pharmacy and nursing workflow efficiency and reduce the chance for medication errors or missed doses.
• Pandora Analytics which provides business analytics for automated dispensing systems, focusing on diversion, compliance, and inventory management.

Saratoga Hospital is an acute-care facility in Saratoga County that has a medical staff of more than 450 physicians and other credentialed providers. The hospital offers care in a broad range of medical specialties including: allergy/immunology, anesthesiology, cancer/oncology, cardiovascular services, dentistry, dermatology, ear, nose, throat/otolaryngology, emergency medicine, endocrinology, eye care/ophthalmology, and family medicine.

Hospital facilities include: Saratoga Hospital, Saratoga Hospital Nursing Home, Wilton Medical Arts, Malta Medical Arts, Saratoga Surgery Center, Mollie Wilmot Radiation Oncology Center, Saratoga Family Physicians, The Saratoga Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes, Saratoga Hospital Pain Management Center, Saratoga Family Health, Schuylerville Family Health, and Galway Family Health.

SOURCE: PR Newswire