Somerset Hospital To Automate Medication Dispensing With McKesson
Somerset Hospital in Pennsylvania has joined with McKesson to automate its pharmacy using the new PROmanager-Rx system. The system will enable the 150-bed hospital to fully automate dispensing of tablets, capsules, and other oral solid medications that come directly from drug manufacturers in unit-dose, bar-coded form. Somerset, already a user of McKesson's Paragon community hospital information system, expects PROmanager-Rx to automate dispensing for approximately 80 percent of its daily scheduled patient doses.
"Our decision to implement PROmanager-Rx is the latest example of how we are using advanced technology to continue to drive innovative improvements in patient care," said Craig Saylor, chief operating officer at Somerset. "PROmanager-Rx will enable us to increase medication dispensing accuracy, eliminate manual processes, and free our pharmacists to serve in expanded patient-centric roles."
PROmanager-Rx is the only system to automate dispensing of manufacturer pre-packaged oral solid medications. Using bar-code-driven robotics, the solution scans every dose for the greatest possible safety and accuracy. Manufacturer packaging is widely recognized by professional associations as the safest type. With PROmanager-Rx, hospitals are able to significantly reduce on-site medication repackaging requirements, saving pharmacy labor and costs.
Michele Russic, director of pharmacy at Somerset, explained, "PROmanager-Rx is the right choice for us because it will automate approximately 80 percent of our daily cart fill, easily fits into our pharmacy layout, and is affordable. With PROmanager-Rx, we will be able to fill directly to the nurse servers, which is important to us. We want to keep the nurse in the room with the patient."
PROmanager-Rx operates on McKesson's newly released Connect-Rx software Version 7.0, which provides enhanced workflow flexibility and additional platform scalability. Connect-Rx software integrates McKesson Automation's product suite through a shared database, giving healthcare professionals a central view of medication data, robust reporting capabilities and unique integration functionality.
With its sleek design and small footprint, PROmanager-Rx is easily installed and supported with minimal changes to the existing facility. The system operates on McKesson's unique Connect-Rx software platform and complements other McKesson bar-code-driven, medication-use process solutions. PROmanager-Rx features sophisticated order processing and inventory management software to increase inventory turns, manage expired and returned medications, and streamline wholesale ordering. Unit-dose packages produced by SKY Packaging, a McKesson company, are certified for use in PROmanager-Rx. Through the Fulfill-RxSM electronic data interchange software, PROmanager-Rx interfaces with McKesson's pharmaceutical distribution system to reduce drug inventory costs and associated labor.
"Automated systems like PROmanager-Rx close the bar-code medication safety loop and free pharmacists and clinicians to become more involved with stimulus-readiness projects, including medication reconciliation, evidence-based order sets, and computerized physician order entry," said Dave Souerwine, president, McKesson Automation.
For more information visit www.mckesson.com/promanagerrxnews.
About Somerset Hospital
Somerset Hospital is a 150-bed hospital which cares for about 5,300 inpatients, more than 133,000 outpatients, and nearly 20,000 emergency cases annually. The hospital presently has a complement of medical/surgical beds, pediatric beds, obstetrics/gynecology beds, nursery cribs, an intensive coronary care unit and an adult, adolescent and child neuropsychiatric service with an 18-bed hospital-based unit. Other services currently include medical oncology, a sleep lab, a dialysis center, a cardiac catheterization laboratory, occupational health, and community education. With 728 employees, and a medical staff of approximately 88 physicians with staff privileges, Somerset Hospital is one of the largest employers in Somerset County.
About McKesson
McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes, and improving the quality and safety of patient care. McKesson has been in continuous operation for more than 175 years, making it the longest-operating company in healthcare today. Over the course of its history, McKesson has grown by providing pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients. For more information, visit http://www.mckesson.com.
SOURCE: Somerset Hospital