Impact of connected dispensing technology with advanced analytics in a multicenter health system.

DISCLAIMER: In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. PURPOSE: This study was designed to evaluate the impact of enterprise inventory optimization (EIO) technology and analytics on pharmacy labor, costs, and medication availability within a large integrated delivery network (IDN). METHODS: This article describes a mixed-methods, postmarket observational study assessing the impact of a solution of disparate technologies including automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs), centralized pharmacy inventory software, and controlled substance vaults connected by an inventory optimization analytics (IOA) tool. Four study modules were implemented over a 10-month period. The intervention consisted of implementation of the IOA software, linking the disparate automated technologies. Transactional data was collected and aggregated with user perception survey data in both the pre- and postintervention periods. Descriptive and comparative statistical testing was used to assess outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 11 facilities with bed counts ranging between 22 and 908 beds were included in this study. At an enterprise level, users were able to complete an average of 2.8 times more periodic automated replenishment (PAR) level changes post intervention, resulting in an estimated enterprise labor avoidance of over 1 full-time equivalent (2,099 labor hours) annually. Despite an enterprise decision to increase ADC inventory on hand from a 3-day supply to a 5-day supply, 5 sites (45%) had a decrease in total inventory, while 9 sites (82%) saw a decrease in ADC inventory costs. Additionally, 7 sites (64%) saw a reduction in the ADC stockout percentage and all 11 sites (100%) saw a decrease in the central pharmacy stockout percentage post intervention. CONCLUSION: Integration and optimization of connected inventory management technology was observed to have positive impacts on improving labor productivity, reducing ADC inventory carrying costs, and increasing medication availability.

Appraising the Clinical, Operational, and Economic Impacts of Automated Medication Dispensing Cabinets in Perioperative and Surgical Settings: A Systematic Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Initiation of pharmacy automation and automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) in hospitals has shown to improve clinical, operational, and economical outcomes. Implementation of ADCs in surgical areas has lagged behind that of traditional hospitals settings. OBJECTIVES: To assess the documented impact of ADCs in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), perioperative, and surgical care areas. METHODS: A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar in November 2022. The SLR was performed and reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. Original research studies were included if they reported empirical data on ADCs in ASCs, perioperative areas, and surgical settings. The search criteria consisted of site locations in North America or Europe, with articles written in English and published after 1992. Outcomes of the studies were categorized as medication errors, controlled substance discrepancies, inventory management, user experience, and cost effectiveness. RESULTS: A total of nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Six assessed ADC impact on controlled-substance inventory management, with all finding reductions in controlled-substance discrepancies ranging from 16% to 62.5%. Two studies showed a reduction in medication errors from 23% in one study to up to 100% after ADC implementation in the other. Three studies revealed a positive impact on user experience, with a range of 81%-100% of nurses across these settings being satisfied with ADC usage. Only one study showed post-ADC implementation labor cost savings due to reduction in labor hours but was based on data from three decades ago. CONCLUSIONS: ADC implementation in surgical settings was found to decrease medication errors, reduce controlled-substance discrepancies, improve inventory management, increase user experience, and reduce labor hours although the evidence consisted of smaller-scale studies. Larger-scale studies are needed to support these findings, thereby fostering a more comprehensive view of the multifactorial impact of ADCs in these settings.

Impact of automated dispensing solutions in long-term care facilities and closed-door pharmacies: A mixed methods study of medication management.

BACKGROUND: Financial, operational, and clinical workflow impacts of deploying an automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) in long-term care (LTC) facilities based on actual observations have not been documented in peer-reviewed literature. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of a closed-door pharmacy (CDP) implementing an ADC with unique secure, removable, and transportable locked pockets in an unstudied setting (LTC facilities) for management of first and emergency dose medications. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: This study was conducted in 1 CDP and 2 LTC facilities. PRACTICE INNOVATION: Enhancing emergency medication management and inventory tracking in an unstudied setting through implementation of an ADC system featuring unique electronically encoded medication storage pockets that can be prepared in the CDP, locked and securely transported to the LTC, and when inserted into ADC it informs staff of its presence, position, and contents. EVALUATION METHODS: Mixed methods, pre- and poststudy to assess the impact of replacing manual emergency medication kits with an ADC. Outcomes were evaluated using rapid ethnography with workflow modeling; inventory and delivery reports; a nursing perception survey; and transactional data from the ADC during postimplementation phase. RESULTS: Pharmacy technician preparation time and pharmacist checking time decreased by 59% and 80%, respectively, and standing inventory was reduced by more than $10,000 combined for the CDP and 2 LTCs by replacing emergency medication kits with the ADC. In the LTCs, this change led to a 71% reduction in emergency medication retrieval time, an increase in emergency medication utilization, and a 96% reduction in the cost of unscheduled deliveries. Over 70% of the nurses surveyed favored replacement of the emergency medication kits with the ADC system. CONCLUSION: Replacing manual emergency medication kit with the described ADC system improved workflow efficiency in the CDP and LTC. It also significantly reduced unscheduled (STAT) deliveries and standing inventory and increased the availability of medications commonly used.

Formulary management guiding principles for automated systems.

PURPOSE: Structural and financial changes in US healthcare are the driving forces reshaping care delivery and the technologies that clinicians use in their practice. Structural-level changes in healthcare organizations bringing facilities varying in size, systems, and complexity under the new integrated care delivery networks create unprecedented challenges. This paper develops guiding principles for formulary management in automated systems that facilitate medication management and alignment of medication information technology (IT) solutions in healthcare organizations ranging in size from a single facility to very large enterprise/multifacility networks. SUMMARY: This paper describes formulary management best practices for healthcare organizations as they follow crucial medication management processes: formulary item builds, urgent and nonformulary medication requests, and formulary item build testing and maintenance. As medication management practices are embedded in automated technologies that are similar yet nuanced, we pay special attention to practices and change control processes that maximize coordination among systems while preserving medication data integrity and reducing medication errors. CONCLUSION: For increasingly complex healthcare systems with multiple medication management system demands, formulary drug database builds and maintenance are challenging and time-consuming. Formulary item build, testing, and maintenance processes involve multifunctional teams collaborating to ensure the integrity of data, prevent unexpected system incompatibilities, and improve patient safety by reducing medication errors. Ideally, formulary item build, testing, and maintenance processes produce consistent final drug records in IT systems meeting user needs.

Development of a metrics dashboard for monitoring involvement in the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

PURPOSE: An electronic tool to support hospital organizations in monitoring and addressing financial and compliance challenges related to participation in the 340B Drug Pricing Program is described. SUMMARY: In recent years there has been heightened congressional and regulatory scrutiny of the federal 340B program, which provides discounted drug prices on Medicaid-covered drugs to safety net hospitals and other 340B-eligible healthcare organizations, or "covered entities." Historically, the 340B program has lacked a metrics-driven reporting framework to help covered entities capture the value of 340B program involvement, community benefits provided to underserved populations, and costs associated with compliance with 340B eligibility requirements. As part of an initiative by a large health system to optimize its 340B program utilization and regulatory compliance efforts, a team of pharmacists led the development of an electronic dashboard tool to help monitor 340B program activities at the system's 340B-eligible facilities. After soliciting input from an array of internal and external 340B program stakeholders, the team designed the dashboard and associated data-entry tools to facilitate the capture and analysis of 340B program-related data in four domains: cost savings and revenue, program maintenance costs, community benefits, and compliance. CONCLUSION: A large health system enhanced its ability to evaluate and monitor 340B program-related activities through the use of a dashboard tool capturing key metrics on cost savings achieved, maintenance costs, and other aspects of program involvement.