Athens Regional Medical Center Upgrades To Omnicell G4 Platform For Supply And Medication Management

New Platform Further Enhances Athens' Patient Safety Initiatives

Omnicell, Inc., a leading provider of medication and supply management solutions and analytics software for healthcare facilities, recently announced that Athens Regional Medical Center has upgraded its Omnicell supply and medication management solutions with the new fourth generation Omnicell G4 platform. After nearly a decade as an Omnicell pharmacy and supply automation customer, the medical center's upgrade demonstrates its commitment to improving patient care and clinician efficiency.

Committed to advancing medication and supply automation management, Athens Regional began its Omnicell G4 platform upgrade process in mid-2011 with the G4 OptiFlex MS for surgical supply management and OptiFlex CL for interventional radiology needs. The medical center's next G4 upgrades are scheduled to go live in January 2012 with enhanced medication management technology, including the OmniRx G4 Automated Medication Dispensing Cabinets (ADCs) to efficiently manage, store, and dispense medications throughout the medical center. At the same time, Athens Regional intends go live with Omnicell's Controlled Substance Management System (CSM) to provide perpetual inventory management and closed-loop tracking for controlled substances.

"Omnicell has been an innovative partner for years, and with the G4 platform we will remain at the forefront of automation technology with secure and efficient medication and supply delivery," said Don Tyson, director of pharmacy services at Athens Regional Medical Center. "We chose to upgrade to the new G4 platform to improve nursing and clinician workflow and expand the patient safety initiatives that are currently in place at Athens."

During the January 2012 G4 upgrade go-live, Athens Regional Medical Center plans to customize its OmniRx G4 Automated Medication Dispensing Cabinets (ADCs) with key software and hardware options, including:

• The new Touch & Go™ Biometric System, which employs state-of-the-art biometrics hardware and software fingerprint authentication to ensure secure, convenient medication access.
• The integrated Medication Label Printer, which allows nurses to print individually-barcoded patient-specific labels, will better enable Athens to deploy bedside barcoding in the future.
• Anywhere RN Remote Medication Management, which allows nurses to remotely access and select medication orders for the Omnicell dispensing cabinets to streamline workflow and eliminate waiting lines at the ADCs.

The completed installation of G4 OptiFlex Supply Solutions enhances the medical inventory management process and streamlines workflow allowing for better focus on patient care. OptiFlex is expected to help reduce excessive inventory, and associated costs, in the surgery and interventional radiology departments. The upgrade follows Athens Regional's recent installation of the OptiFlex Bone and Tissue Tracking Module which complies with The Joint Commission regulations for managing chain of custody for grafts and implants.

"Athens' decision to be an early adopter of the G4 platform demonstrates their commitment to bringing the latest automation technology to their patients and their clinical staff," said J. Christopher Drew, Omnicell senior vice president, field operations. "Taking advantage of the G4 platform's modular upgrade design, Athens will be able to extend the life of their original investment in Omnicell automation and avoid the disruption of whole product replacement."

About Athens Regional Medical Center
Athens Regional Medical Center is a 350-plus bed, full service regional referral center and is part of Athens Regional Health Services, an integrated system that provides for the healthcare needs of a 17-county service area in Northeast Georgia.

Athens Regional features nationally acclaimed, comprehensive cardiac, vascular and thoracic procedures including open heart surgery; cardiac catheterization and vascular labs; a full-spectrum of advanced surgical procedures; minimally invasive surgeries; a neurosurgery unit; a certified primary stroke care center; a free-standing outpatient radiology center and outpatient surgery center; adult and children's rehabilitation services; diagnostic and therapeutic oncology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and PET/CT Scanner; a neonatal intensive care unit, the Loran Smith Center for Cancer Support and the Breast Health Center.

About Omnicell
Omnicell, Inc. is a leading provider of automated and business information solutions enabling hospitals and healthcare systems to streamline the medication administration process and manage costly medical supplies for increased operational efficiency and enhanced patient safety. Through seamless integration with a hospital's existing IT infrastructure, Omnicell solutions empower healthcare facilities to achieve comprehensive automation of medication and supply management from the arrival at the loading dock to the patient's bedside. Omnicell also provides healthcare facilities with business analytics software designed to improve medication diversion detection and regulatory compliance.

Since 1992, more than 2,200 hospital customers worldwide have relied on Omnicell's medication automation, supply chain, and hospital analytics solutions to increase patient safety, improve efficiency and address changing healthcare regulations while providing effective control of costs, charge capture for payer reimbursement and inventory management of medications and supplies.

For more information, visit www.omnicell.com.

SOURCE: Omnicell, Inc.