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Adopting Automation Supports Safer, More Efficient Sterile Compounding
Dennis Wright
Senior Director, Central Pharmacy Dispensing Services, Omnicell
As disruption and uncertainty in the supply of IV medications from outsourced compounding facilities continues, health system pharmacies should reevaluate how they are managing sterile compounding needs. IV automation and technology-enabled services are helping health systems to take greater control of their drug supply, resulting in:
- Increased quality and safety of compounded sterile preparations
- Decreased reliance on 503B vendors
- Reduced costs
Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital implemented Omnicell’s IV compounding service to support in-house production of ready-to-administer (RTA) syringes in 2018. Pharmacy leadership conducted a data-driven evaluation, including key considerations of drug waste, the need for a consistent supply of RTA medications, and gaining a high level of control over the quality of prepared products.
Nearly 1 in 10 IVs are not prepared within guidelines using manual processes, and contamination is one of the most frequent errors. IV automation improves sterile compounding processes as compared to manual preparation. Removing humans from the mix not only decreases the risk of contamination, the gravimetric verification utilized in the robot delivers a final product that is more accurate than one that’s been prepared manually IV compounding robot also ensures that the preparation process is the same every time, reducing opportunity for human error. Following recommended labeling practices further supports quality and safety for compounded sterile preparations.
Join Kevin Hansen, PharmD, of Moses Cone, and me for our next Omnicell Live event, Reducing Drug Spend by Insourcing with IV Automation Services, on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 1 pm ET.
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author(s). These views are always subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and may not be held in perpetuity.
