Pharmacy technology – Automated dispensing

PROmanager-Rx is an automated system from McKesson designed for dispensing unit-dosed oral solids. PROmanager-Rx has a 12,000-dose capacity and uses a conveyor system and bar-code scanner to fill orders generated through the pharmacy information system.

The system automates storage, dispensing, restocking, and various inventory management functions via the McKesson Connect-Rx software platform. And of course the system interfaces with McKesson’s pharmaceutical distribution system.

According to the McKesson product brochure:

The PROmanager-Rxâ„¢ system helps hospital pharmacies get the most out of manufacturer packaged oral solid medications. And relieves the burden of medication packaging.

It’s the only fully automated system that directly stores and dispenses pre-packaged oral solids. PROmanager-Rx is ideal for patient-centric filling. Bar-code-driven robotics scan every dose for the greatest possible safety and accuracy.

Pharmacists are freed from packaging and dispensing activities so they can play more integral roles on the clinical care team. Bar-code scanning also simplifies tasks such as managing returns, expired meds, and overall inventory.

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Cool Technology for Pharmacy

The ValiMed Medication Validation System by CDEX, Inc.

According to the ValiMed website:

CDEX’s technology stands alone, able to precisely identify medications in real time with its patented Enhanced Photoemission Spectroscopy technology.

Energy at a preset wavelength interrogates the selected substance, capturing a unique emission spectrum which is then compared to the propriety signature, resulting in a simple “VALIDATED” reading when matched.

Each medication reveals its own distinct and easily readable signature. By comparing the fingerprint of a tested medication against the signature for that medication in our data library, the ValiMed technology is able to verify a match, presuming there is one.

The ValiMed Medication and Narcotic Validation System offers superior value to hospital medication safety programs and quality control processes by:

– Providing immediate, real-time validation of the substance itself.

– Providing an opportunity to standardize and optimize internal medication safety processes including Training, QA and Regulatory Compliance.

– Providing a real-time means of validating narcotic returns and mitigating narcotic diversion.

– Providing pharmacy staff and clinicians with a simple, fast, straightforward and cost-effective way to ensure that the RIGHT drug in the RIGHT dose is administered to the patient.

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Year end thoughts for 2009

2009 brought many new and exciting changes not only in my personal life, but in the world of pharmacy and technology as well. I’ve learned many new things, gained some skills previously absent from my armamentarium, met some great new people, discovered the “real” internet for the first time, traveled more than ever before, discovered I don’t know diddly squat about a great many things, and am more excited about the next year than I can remember in recent history.

Below is a list of opinions about a great many things that I have seen and done over the past year. Some are pharmacy related, some are technology related, some are personal, and some are just random thoughts.

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Technology to prevent medication errors (article)

Forni A, Chu HT. Technology Utilization to Prevent Medication Errors. Curr Drug Saf. 2009 Oct 7 [ePub] This is a nice review article explores current technologies available to healthcare and what role they play in the reduction of medication errors. The article provides a short review of literature to support each technology reviewed. Technologies covered … Read more

Quick Hit – “I don’t see the icon”

Several times on this blog I have discussed the need to advance pharmacy through the use of new and exciting technologies. Yesterday I experienced something that brings light to the reason pharmacy practice is still in the Stone Age, where it may live forever. We had a minor pharmacy system upgrade yesterday. The system was … Read more

The tech-check-tech model to improve clinical practice

pharm_logo2Earlier this year the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy published “A vision statement by the ASHP Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology”. The statement represents thoughts on the current state of pharmacy practice and contains a healthy dose of ideas on how technology can help support and improve pharmacy practice.

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Cool Technology for Pharmacy

Researchers from the Technische Universität München (TUM) have developed a small microchip that can automate the process of testing the activity of cancer drugs against a patient’s tumor cells. The microsensors on the chip record, among other things, changes in the acid content of the medium and the cells’ oxygen consumption; photographs of the process … Read more

Dealing with the shortcomings of healthcare information systems

This week has kept me busy dealing with issues surrounding our various clinical systems and how they fit, or don’t fit, into various processes. If you’ve been reading this blog then you are probably a little too familiar with one of the problems; the dreaded allergy issues which I’ve discussed here and here. The issue … Read more