pharmacy TECHNOLOGY products

Software Improves Infusion Pump Safety

Smiths Medical's (St. Paul, Minn) CADD-Sentry Pro Medication Safety Software makes programming pain management infusion pumps simpler and safer. The software reduces the risk of errors by enabling clinicians to enter standardized pain therapy protocols onto a secure database on the hospital computer network and then download them into a pump. The product has 2 applications: the Administrator software, which enters, manages, and stores therapy protocols in a secure database on the hospital computer network; and the Point of Care software, which accesses and downloads the protocols into a CADD-Prizm PCS II ambulatory infusion pump. The Point of Care software incorporates additional safety features, including bar-code verification to ensure that the patient receives the right medication. For more information, visit www.smithsmedical.com.

R800 Increases Pharmacy Speed and Accuracy

AutoMed's (Vernon Hills, Ill; a division of AmerisourceBergen) R800 pharmacy robot can fill 200+ prescriptions per hour with 99.99% accuracy. The robot is designed for pharmacies averaging 400 to 800+ scripts per 10-hour shift. It is capable of dispensing more prescriptions during peak hours and automates up to 60% of countable prescriptions. The R800 is a direct-fill system, eliminating a central chute and adding another level of medication safety. If a canister needs replenishment, the robot parks the partial vial, and the system maintains normal operation until replenishment. Pharmacists have the option of installing AmerisourceBergen's work-flow management software - Efficiency WorkPath. The software integrates with a pharmacy's information system and manages the fulfillment of all orders, whether filled by automation or manually. For more information, visit www.automed.com, or call 888-537-3102.

Scheduled Meds Improves Patient Safety

Omnicell Inc's (Mountain View, Calif) Omnicell 11.0 - Scheduled Meds is the newest feature of the company's OmniRx medication dispensing cabinets that can be customized to meet each facility's needs. Scheduled Meds provides a filtered list of due medication orders to the nurse to provide dispensing efficiency. The list is based on frequency and lead/lag times (early/late windows), per hospital policy and predefined windows. The Scheduled Meds feature works with cabinets that have patient medication profiling. In addition to providing the nurse with the list of due medications, any returned medication that is scheduled in that time frame will reappear on the Scheduled Meds list for the nurse. The returned medication will stay on the due list through the predefined period of time. The software also enhances patient safety because the nurse is able to complete a fast and efficient review of the due medication list at the cabinet against the paper medication administration record or electronic bedside medication documentation. For more information, visit www.omnicell.com, or call 800-850-6664.

RFID Tag Launches in Pharma Market

SecureRF Corp (Westport, Conn) recently deployed its LIME Tag (LIghtweight Multistream Encryption Tag) with Onboard Security. The product is a battery-assisted passive tag for itemlevel authentication that provides tamper-proof data storage on the tag and ensures privacy by allowing only authorized readers to access sensitive information. One of the company's first industry deployments will be in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Manufacturers and distributors can use the authentication and data protection features of the LIME Tag to address problems of drug counterfeiting by using a range of recognized cryptographic methods to create an unalterable electronic seal. The product also will help pharmaceutical manufacturers and other cold chain distributors track and monitor product temperature history with its temperature sensor. The radio frequency identification solution addresses cold chain management issues by monitoring and securely recording an item-level temperature history. Tracking temperature-sensitive, high-value pharmaceuticals and biologicals from production to use is critical to ensuring drug safety and efficacy. For more information, visit www.SecureRF.com.