AmerisourceBergen Corporation launched the Automed Efficiency Pharmacy H750, the first radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled hospital pharmacy automation and barcoding system for all types of orders and dosage forms.
Like the company's other hospital pharmacy automation solutions, the Automed H750 is modular and scalable, allowing each hospital to adapt the system to its space and capital needs. Displayed for the first time at this week's American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists Mid-Year Meeting in New Orleans, the Automed H750 features Smart Tray, which uses RFID technology to deliver greater efficiency and accuracy. Introduced by the company's Automed pharmacy automation division, the new system automates fulfillment of pharmacy orders across all dosage forms and for all hospital distribution systems, including cart-fill, cabinet replenishment, nurse servers, first doses and stat orders.
"Even with the new RFID feature, the Automed H750 is the most modular, most compact, and least expensive centralized pharmacy automation system available," said Duane Chudy, president of Automed. "For under $650,000 and less than 450 square feet, the H750 provides automated unit dose dispensing of oral solids, injectable, and unit-of-use items with automated storage and retrieval of IVs and bulk storage items."
The system's new RFID based Smart Tray identifies and tracks every order by patient or by cabinet. For example, at the start of the cart-fill process, each Smart Tray is automatically programmed to represent a unique patient. As the tray moves through the dispensing process, each workstation reads the tray identifier and automatically brings up that specific patient's profile of medications to be dispensed. This automatic patient identification saves technician time and reduces chances of dispensing errors.
The H750 uses a fraction of the pharmacy space than current central pharmacy robotic systems by, 1) storing oral solids in bulk and packaging on demand, 2) eliminating the need for special packaging rooms with sound protection, 3) using space efficient storage and retrieval automation and 4) using flexible and ergonomic shelving system. Converting oral solid purchases from unit dose to bulk also saves customers 4 cent to 6 cents across all oral solid doses, compared to a 7-cent to 12-cent packaging up-charge common to current robotic systems.
"The Automed H750 also slashes restocking time by as much as 50 per cent," said Chudy, "cuts the space required for storage by up to 75 per cent, and reduces diversion and shrinkage through better inventory control and tracking." The H750 also produces nursing friendly packaging that is easy to open, with USP class B packages and 12-month, beyond-use product dating.