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Reno Communications
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Little Company of Mary Hospital-Torrance Enhances Patient Safety
with Innovation’s PharmASSIST Robotics and Workflow Technology
Southern California-based Institution Implements PharmASSIST ROBOTx and
PharmASSIST Symphony as a Key Component of Patient Safety Initiative
JOHNSON CITY, NY – October 28, 2008 – Innovation, makers of PharmASSIST® pharmacy automation solutions, today announced that Little Company of Mary Hospital-Torrance of Torrance, California has implemented the firm’s PharmASSIST ROBOTx® and PharmASSIST Symphony® systems as a key component of their ongoing patient safety initiative. The hospital recently invested more than $2.5 million in various medication dispensing and delivery technologies that enhance patient safety through the use of bar code scanning and stringent quality control.
“During our evaluation of pharmacy automation systems, the outstanding security features of Innovation’s robotic dispensing technology and workflow were big selling points for us,” said Muno Bholat, director of pharmacy, Little Company of Mary Hospital-Torrance. “The dispensers’ locking mechanisms are especially important for controlled substances, and the bar coding protocol for both medication replenishment and dispensing ensure that we always dispense the correct medication dosage and strength for each patient.”
From a workflow perspective, Symphony provides bar code scanning for every step of the pharmacy’s fulfillment process. To begin the workflow, pharmacy staff scan every hard copy prescription, enabling a paperless workflow by which they can view the original prescription image during Rx verification or when tracking or troubleshooting a prescription. According to Bholat, Symphony’s Rx Tracking and Problem Management features provide his staff with an invaluable tool that helps them trace potential errors and resolve problem prescriptions before they are delivered to patients.
To process an average of 200 Rxs daily, with peaks reaching 250, the pharmacy employs a 100-dispenser ROBOTx system completely integrated with the Symphony workflow and its workstations. The PharmASSIST systems are in turn integrated with the pharmacy’s HCC pharmacy management system and Voice-Tech IVR for refill processing.
“Although patient safety is our number one priority, we also evaluated and have benefitted from the many efficiencies of these technologies. The systems have streamlined our entire process, eliminated bottlenecks, reduced interruptions, and freed our pharmacists for patient consultation,” said Bholat. “The ROBOTx system has run smoothly and quietly, and the process for placing a different medication in a dispenser is quickly and easily handled through bar code scanning.”
“Little Company of Mary Hospital’s technology decision is the latest example of hospitals acquiring our PharmASSIST technology as part of a larger strategy to advance patient safety and facilitate operational efficiencies,” said John Wilson, division vice president, institutional sales, Innovation. “We’re proud to be helping Little Company of Mary Hospital achieve its strategic objectives.”About Innovation Associates
Innovation Associates, Inc., a leader in the world of automated prescription dispensing, offers the PharmASSIST family of products to address the prescription growth, quality assurance, pharmacy workflow, and cost control challenges of all size pharmacies. With over three decades of broad-based, business experience, Innovation Associates is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality pharmacy automation products to the pharmacy industry. For more information on
Innovation Associates, Inc., visit www.innovat.com.
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