Hospital Installs Automated Medication Cabinets

Regina Medical Center in Hastings, Minn, isimproving patient safety with medication-use systemsfrom Omnicell Inc. As provider of patientsafetysolutions, Omnicell will install passwordprotected,computerized medication cabinets in10 different hospital locations, including theemergency department, nursing units, and thesurgery center.

The medication cabinets will have advancedsingle-dose dispensing, bar-code confirmationupon removal of bulk items, a range of drawermodules enabling all security levels, integrationwith a Web browser for clinical reference information,and patient medication profiling.

Jenifer E.Watters, RPh, director of pharmacy forRegina, noted that new systems will be criticalafter January 2006, when the Joint Commission onAccreditation of Healthcare Organizations' standardswill prohibit access to medications when thehospital pharmacy is closed. Because Regina'scentral hospital pharmacy is not open 24 hours,controlled, automated dispensing will be crucial.