For Nurses, Intelligent ADCs Make Medication Management Easy

Juliana Linsdell, BSN, RN 
Omnicell Nurse Consultant

For our customer, Massachusetts General Hospital – the No. 6-ranked hospital in the country by US News & World Report – getting medications from the Central Pharmacy to patient units in seven different buildings involves a lot of walking – and elevators. Unfortunately, finding and retrieving medication from the basement and delivering to distant patient floors can cause lengthy medication administration delays that can be dangerous to patients with urgent care needs.

“Our hospital is so big, it takes us a while to get from our pharmacy to even the closest floors, and the elevators are slow,” explained Benjamin Pennell, Manager of Central Pharmacy Operations. “That’s why we rely so heavily on our Omnicell cabinets. We try to maximize the meds in our cabinets, so nurses have what they need close by.”

Maximizing space is one of the reasons why the hospital relies on Omnicell’s XT Automated Dispensing Cabinets. Not only does the greater capacity allow for storing more items to prevent stockouts, but XT cabinets also accommodate larger items. This capability enables the team to take greater advantage of its 503B partnership and store more compounded medications with longer beyond-use dates (BUDs).

While greater cabinet capacity really is better, ease of use is just as important. Nurses juggle dozens of tasks while caring for patients throughout their shifts, so searching for meds is unwelcome frustration. 

That’s why nurses have welcomed the XT’s intuitive design with a guiding light that indicates what drawer to open when retrieving medication. Just follow the blinking light – no map or guesswork needed. Nurses can now locate medications quickly and easily.

But if size and intuitive design were not enough, the real game changer for point of care professionals is the visibility provided by the cabinet’s embedded intelligence.

For example, XT cabinets feature moveable drawers with many configurations of locked lidded bins and a single dose dispenser, all making medication safety and security paramount for RNs while providing patient care. In addition to powerful hardware security features, Omnicell has introduced Omnicell Essentials, a data analytics dashboard that monitors potential diversion transactions and provides inventory and expiration visibility with a few clicks. It’s a great one-two combination: secure cabinets supported by medication visibility.

Mass General is also excited by the promise of the  Omnicell One™ intelligence solution, a ground-breaking cloud-based service that provides medication visibility, insights, workflow tools, and expert strategists behind the scenes making valuable recommendations for Pharmacy workflow success. This intelligence solution will help streamline pharmacy supply chain workflows to optimize par levels, reduce risk of expiring medications, and help manage medication inventory levels. 

Cabinets with increased capacity, safety, efficiency, enhanced security, simplified nursing workflow, and embedded intelligence are critical to nursing success. In fact, embedded intelligence is one of the main reasons why Mass General chose Omnicell XT cabinets. Bottom line: Pennell knows intelligent cabinets are a smart investment. “We needed a system we could count on, with 99.99% uptime,” he noted. “We’ve been live now for almost a year, and the XT cabinets have worked really well; they’ve been very reliable. That helps me sleep at night.”

To learn more about the XT cabinet and how it can benefit your nursing organization, click here.