More from #ASHP Midyear

Yesterday was more of the same, i.e. I spent several hours in the exhibit hall yesterday trying to make my way through my “game plan”. And again I failed to complete my mission. I spent a lot of time speaking to various people about some of the things I saw on Monday.

Some of my stops and thoughts from yesterday:

Plus Delta Technologies – Plus Delta entered the semi-automated manual i.v. workflow space last year about this time. Their product, IVTrac has come a long way since the last time I saw it. They’ve made several significant improvements to the configurability of the system as well as improved the UI. Of the systems I’ve reviewed I would put IVTrac in the same bucket as Verification by MedKeeper, as opposed to placing it with systems like BD Cato and DoseEdge. That is to say that both IVTrac and Verification are quite flexible/configurable, they have small footprints in the hood, and are web-based at their core.

Grifols – I stopped by the Grifols booth to check on the status of Phocus Rx, their semi-automated manual i.v. workflow system. The reps in the booth told me that Phocus Rx recently received a software upgrade that will allow users to enter and track lot numbers and expiration dates for drugs used in sterile compounding. The system relies on user input for the data, but that’s the current norm for these products. Grifols also indicated that Phocus Rx now offer more configuration options for workflow around chemotherapy. I was not able to get a demo of the new functionality.

Pearson Medical Technologies – I stopped by the Pearson booth to get an up close and personal look at NarcoMedic, which I wrote about in August.  NarcoMedic is an interesting concept for point-of-care dispensing. While much of the product resembles other automated dispensing cabinets, the way it handles controlled substances is rather unique.

ICU Medical – ICU Medical had a a couple of things in their booth that I wanted to look at, both of which have to do with handling hazardous drugs. Diana is marketed as an automated sterile compounding system for hazardous drugs. I’d say it’s closer to a TPN compounder than an i.v. workflow management system. I’m not entirely sure where to put Diana in the overall scheme of things. The other items I viewed were ICU Medical’s CSTDs: ChemoLock and ChemoClave. CSTDs seemed to be a popular topic at this year’s ASHP. Could have something to do with the looming approval of USP <800> sometime in 2015.

ScriptPro – Most people know ScriptPro for their outpatient pharmacy automation and technology. That’s really where they’ve made their mark. However, the company does have a semi-automated manual i.v. workflow management system, SP Central Telepharmacy for Sterile Room Medication Preparation; seriously, that’s what the system is called. I’ve mentioned the system before. Not much new going on here, but the rep did say that they had recently redesigned the camera housing to make it more friendly to cleaning solutions.

Envision Telepharmacy – Envision is best known for their remote pharmacist services, but they also have a product in the i.v. workflow management space. Or at least they did. This year the Envision booth was empty. When I caught up with Envision’s CEO, Emily Alexander, she informed me that the intellectual property around the company’s remote verification for images captured during the preparation of compounded sterile preparations was sold to BD. In other works Envision’s product, Pharm-Q ITH, is no longer on the market and customers using the system will be transitioned to BD’s offering, BD Cato in the near future. Very interesting development to say the least. I have several thoughts on that.