CHICAGO, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago has completed the first phase of a two-phase implementation of state-of-the-art medication-use technology from Omnicell, Inc. , a leading provider of patient safety solutions preferred by nurses.
During the first phase, 53 OmniRx(R) medication dispensing cabinets were installed in specialty labs and on patient floors throughout the hospital to help nurses manage patient medications. This month, Omnicell’s WorkflowRx(TM) drug packaging and storage and retrieval systems will be installed in the medical center’s central pharmacy, according to Andrew Donnelly, PharmD, the medical center’s director of pharmacy.
“The new Omnicell technology improves our drug distribution system from the time our pharmacists verify the physicians’ electronic medication orders to the time nurses obtain the medications for patient administration,” said Donnelly. “We also have added safety and efficiency to the process, as well as making it easier to comply with several JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) standards. Feedback from nurses is positive because the cabinets allow faster access to patient medications once the medication orders have been verified by a pharmacist.”
Donnelly says that the medical center will next be looking at bringing safety technology to the bedside, with the potential for a pilot project as early as next year. This technology will allow nurses to scan bar-coded medications before administering them, while simultaneously checking for possible drug interactions and verifying the five rights of medication administration (patient, drug, dose, route and time).
The new OmniRx medication dispensing cabinets have built-in security and safety features, including Touch & Go(TM) biometric (fingerprint) identification and guiding lights that direct users to the drawer and bin where the medication is located.
About University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago
The University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago provides a higher level of care and individual attention to patients and their families, giving special consideration to their unique medical challenges, emotional needs and cultural sensitivities. Its diverse medical teams bring the world’s latest advancements to patient care, research and teaching. The medical center’s physicians’ breadth of expertise coupled with the latest advances in technology help provide an integrated continuum of care-from preventive medicine and routine check-ups to highly specialized surgeries and innovative treatments. Its teams collaborate with each other and with referring professionals to provide superior care to the people of Illinois and beyond. For more information about the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago, visit www.MyMedCenter.org.
About Omnicell
Established in 1992, Omnicell is a leading provider of patient safety solutions preferred by nurses. Improving patient care by enhancing operational efficiency, Omnicell solutions are used throughout the healthcare facility -- in the pharmacy, nursing units, surgical services, cath lab, and all the way to the patient’s bedside. The company’s MedGuard(TM) line of solutions for the medication-use process includes systems for physician order management, automated pharmacy retrieval, medication packaging, medication dispensing, and nursing workflow automation with bar code medication administration. For the medical-surgical supply chain, Omnicell provides open bar code systems, cabinet-based supply management, integrated open and cabinet-based systems, and Web-based procurement. More than 1,600 healthcare facilities use Omnicell solutions to help reduce medication errors, operate more efficiently, and decrease costs--ultimately contributing to improved clinical and financial outcomes. For more information, visit www.omnicell.com.
Omnicell
CONTACT: Bruce Lewis of Lewis & Summers Public Relations, +1-707-964-3844,or bruce@prwebsite.com, for Omnicell
