US Pharm.
2008;33(2):52.
Cardinal Health is partnering with hospitals nationwide to help them simplify
the way that they purchase and dispense medications. The process of ordering,
storing, and dispensing drugs at hospitals is extremely complex, with multiple
personnel involved in getting pharmaceuticals to the patient bedside. Cardinal
Health analyzes a hospital's entire medication-use process to help staff gain
a comprehensive view of their entire medication-use process. Hospitals then
integrate key products and services from Cardinal Health to simplify
medication management and maximize safety, efficiency, and cost savings.
Normally, various departments manage different steps within the medication-use
process. For example, the purchasing department might order pharmaceuticals
from a wholesaler, the pharmacy department would receive the pharmaceuticals
and be filling physician orders, and the nursing staff would administer the
medications to patients. Each department would focus on its specific area. As
a result, any process change in one area might unknowingly create an issue for
the other departments.
Nine hospitals, including Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Memorial Hermann,
Nebraska Medical Center, Ochsner Medical Center, Oregon Health & Science
University, St Joseph's Orange, and SSM St. Anthony Hospital, will employ
Cardinal Health technologies, services, and expertise to improve their
hospitals' processes for medication management.
"Ochsner Medical Center has long been a leader in providing the very highest
level of care, but we continue to push ourselves to take quality, safety, and
efficiency to the next level," said Warner Thomas, president and chief
operating officer, Ochsner Health System. "Cardinal Health's experts have
helped us take a more strategic approach to how we manage our medications
across our entire hospital, which will lead to even safer and more efficient
delivery of medications to our patients."
"Cardinal Health is focused on leveraging the process, technology,
information, and expertise across our company and provide the best overall
solution for our customers," said Jon Zimmerman, general manager of medication
solutions. "By combining our pharmaceutical procurement and logistical
solutions with our automated dispensing cabinets, smart IV pumps, bedside
barcode patient identification technologies, and our expertise in the
medication-use process, we provide true end-to-end medication management
capabilities for hospitals."
Cardinal Health's technologies and services help hospitals improve patient
safety and protect them from medication errors; improve the quality of care by
reducing the administrative workload on pharmacy and nursing so they can spend
more time caring for patients; meet their compliance initiatives by
streamlining information and process flows; optimize procurement practices to
minimize spending and control costs; and achieve rapid results by facilitating
ease of implementation and ongoing operations.
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