TECH Product News

Swisslog Inventory Management Software Also Manages Cost, Workflow

Swisslog (Denver, CO) offers its next generation of Inventory Management Software (IMS) for hospital pharmacies. By optimizing pharmacy inventory and providing a “perpetual inventory” methodology expressly designed for hospital medication flow, Swisslog’s IMS helps control inventory costs while improving workflow and enhancing patient safety. The software automates reordering of drugs directly with the pharmaceutical wholesaler, and all inventory movements from the warehouse to dispensing, stock levels, remote inventory, and replenishment orders are recorded and tracked. Featuring several modules, including inventory ordering and receiving, satellite pharmacies and departments, and central pharmacy and reporting, Swisslog’s IMS also provides full reporting capability and is engineered to be linked to the hospital information system/ADT. Hardware requirements include a mobile workstation and handheld scanner. The IMS works with Swisslog’s PillPick automation system for packaging, storage, and dispensing of unit-dose, bar-coded medications in centralized or hybrid pharmacies, and with its ATP high-speed packager and BoxPicker automated storage and retrieval system for decentralized/dispensing cabinet-driven hospitals. Working in concert, these systems and the IMS offer hospitals a complete inventory management solution. For more information on Swisslog’s IMS and other offerings, visit www.Swisslog.com.

FlavoRx Automated System Fills Flavors Fast

FlavoRx (Columbia, MD) provides an automated dispensing aid that is designed to speed up the dispensing of flavoring into liquid medications, while still allowing the pharmacist to have complete control of the process. The FlavoRx Flavoring System uses a unique bitterness suppressor and sweetness enhancer to mask the unpleasant taste of many liquid prescription and OTC medications. With the new system, the process of flavoring a medicine is shortened from 10 minutes to 3 minutes. The FlavoRx Flavoring System uses Fillmaster technology to liquefy flavors and rapidly prepare flavored medications for patients both young and old who find their flavored liquid medicines distasteful. For more information on FlavoRx, visit www.FlavoRx.com.

FSAok AutoCopay Simplifies Flexible Spending Account Purchases

Finpago Inc (Norristown, PA) has made the flexible spending account (FSA) purchase process easy with its FSAok AutoCopay solution. Compliant with IRS Notice 2006-69, FSAok AutoCopay delivers an automated copayment claims service that eliminates paperwork for patients, allowing them to use any credit or debit card (including their FSA debit card) to make copays. With AutoCopay, even pharmacies without a point-ofsale system can accept payments from patients using FSAs. Pharmacists using the solution submit copay claims the usual way. AutoCopay processes the claims, and patients pay using FSA funds or any other credit or debit card. No new software or hardware is needed to use AutoCopay—pharmacies can use their existing systems to process claims. In addition, the service tracks FSA debit transactions and responds to IRS audits. For more information on FSAok AutoCopay, visit www.FSAok.com.

TCGRx Launches Safe Tray

TCGRx (Powers Lake, WI) recently launched the Safe Tray, a fill-to-light external tray to aid in oral solid pouch packaging with TCG’s Automatic Tablet Packager (ATP-Series), aimed at reducing errors and costs for pharmacies. Using color-coded lights, medication images, and software flags, the Safe Tray guides technicians to fill, and pharmacists to check, exceptions or nonformulary medications that are not located within the ATP device. The Safe Tray uses a docking station, allowing multiple prefill trays to be filled and checked accurately without stopping production. Bar-coded trays ensure that correct prefill trays for each batch are dispensed in the correct order, and color-coded lights help to identify partial, whole, or multiple pills in each compartment of the tray. The Safe Tray requires a barcode scan of the medication bottle to make certain that the correct medication is being filled, while also providing image verification of the medication. For maximum productivity, the Safe Tray works in concert with the ATP system’s software to allow for multitasking capabilities. It is available in a variety of configurations, depending on the production needs of the individual pharmacy. For more information, visit www.TCGRx.com.