Time wasted locating missing medications is frustrating for pharmacy and nursing alike; manually tracking and locating medications negatively impacts workflow and prevents staff members from focusing their energies on patient care. Automating medication tracking via bar coding or RFID technology reduces labor and increases safety, efficiency, and compliance. Perhaps the most significant benefit of implementing an automated medication tracking solution is the increased peace of mind that results from pharmacy exerting comprehensive control over its inventory.

Therefore, it is not surprising that adoption of this fairly new technology has sharply increased in recent years. According to Pharmacy Purchasing & Products’ 2018 State of Pharmacy Automation Survey, implementation of medication tracking technologies has almost doubled since 2016 (from 14% in 2016 to 27% in 2018), with facilities of all sizes embracing medication tracking products.1 Moreover, pharmacy users ascribe high marks to their medication tracking automation, with almost three-quarters (73%) rating their systems as good or excellent.1 This growth is projected to continue as 38% of hospitals without automated medication tracking plan to adopt a system within the next few years. Furthermore, almost half (48%) of organizations currently utilizing automated medication tracking plan to expand their systems to cover additional areas in the near future.2

With a variety of medication tracking solutions available, pharmacy should closely evaluate its needs and compare these requirements against the solutions offered in the marketplace to identify the most suitable solution. Medication tracking systems are discussed in this Buyer’s Guide and also can be reviewed at: www.pppmag.com/MedicationTracking.

References

1. Medication Tracking Systems. Pharm Purch Prod. 2018;15(11):74.
2. Medication Tracking Systems. Pharm Purch Prod. 2018;15(7):22,24.

MedEx TraySafe from Inmar automates the replenishment and tracking of medications used in pre-configured trays and kits to significantly increase efficiency. Managing configurations of distributed pharmaceutical supplies can be costly and time consuming for hospital pharmacies. Given the variety of trays and kits distributed throughout hospitals, and with labor costs increasing, providers may be seeking options for tray and kit processing and inventory management. TraySafe handles tray distribution, inventory recall, and audit response. It automates tray and kit reconciliation and replenishment, distribution, and expired and lot recall medications. TraySafe uses photo imaging documentation to provide transparency, ensuring every medication is in the proper place.

• From Inmar
  For more information, visit www.pppmag.com/MedicationTracking

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Kit Check’s tray management system automates the processes of medication handling and tracking, helping pharmacy save time, reduce risk, and increase productivity. Kit Check improves the accuracy of code and OR tray restocking; existing users report reduced pharmacy kit restocking time, fewer errors, and increased ROI.

In addition to process automation, Kit Check’s analytics, machine-learning, and cloud-based solutions are designed to help hospitals manage issues ranging from process standardization, recall notification, and inventory reduction to diversion detection and discrepancy resolution using the new Bluesight for Controlled Substances software. All of these capabilities are backed by a support team that is available 24 hours a day.

• From Kit Check
  For more information, visit www.pppmag.com/MedicationTracking