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“BWH has worked hard to create this state-of-the-art Drug Repackaging Center,” said Bill Churchill, MS, RPH, director, BWH Pharmacy Services. “The new system will use computer software to track drug preparation and ensure safety measures are met. The Center will be open seven days a week with a full-time pharmacist and two full-time Pharmacy Services technicians to oversee it.”
The ultimate goal of the Drug Repackaging Center is automation. This Center was designed to repackage drugs quickly, safely and accurately while keeping costs down and minimizing labor intensity.
In addition, Pharmacy Services has also added a new drug storage retrieval mechanism to further improve efficiency, incorporate barcode scanning and track inventory.
“This new system stores upwards of 1,000 drugs at a given time,” said Churchill. “A technician will be able to call up the drug he or she needs via computer, and the machine will let them know exactly where to find it on the carousel, so that they can scan it out and prepare it for delivery to the patient. It’s a very smart, innovative technology.”
Also in the works are the new web-based Pharmacy system, now being piloted, and the Medication Admini-stration Record (MAR) system, which is slated to be piloted in early-November. Pharmacy staff are currently using barcode scanners, and IS staff are working diligently to implement compatible technology in the Tower.
“The new Drug Repackaging Center and the upcoming web-based systems are highly unique,” said Churchill. “BWH is one of the first, if not the first, the be doing this. And it is evident that this is fast-becoming the standard in hospitals across the nation. This is a tremendous opportunity that will have a vast impact on the hospital as a whole.”