Baptist Health Alabama
The Challenge
Baptist Health hospitals manage medication inventory using cabinet-centric medication dispensing models, with the South and East hospitals augmented by central pharmacy carousels. As pharmacy leaders confronted the coronavirus pandemic, they quickly recognized systemic issues with their medication inventory management, including overstocked cabinet inventory, critical drug shortages, low inventory turns, and risk of expired medications.
The challenges were further exacerbated by established processes. Inter-facility collaboration between pharmacy buyers had not been optimized — each facility managed inventory separately, and reordering decisions were based on visual inspection and anecdotal evidence rather than hard data.
The Solution
Pharmacy leaders sought a holistic, systematic approach to inventory management to provide full visibility across locations and to optimize inventory, manage shortages, increase turns, and reduce drug spend. To achieve these goals, the health system implemented Omnicell Intelligence Solutions.
The Impact
In less than three months, pharmacy leaders realized medication inventory savings of nearly $425,000. They also experienced a 39% reduction in days on hand and a 59% improvement in inventory turns. "It's a win-win for us," said Mary McKnight, Director of Pharmacy at Baptist Medical Center South. "It is helping us to truly optimize our inventory and is changing our mindset when it comes to medication planning."
Increasing inventory visibility across care centers has connected facilities in new ways. At Prattville Baptist Hospital, the ability to share inventory across the system has meant patients no longer need to be transferred due to a lack of medication on hand. The pharmacy team is looking to sustain momentum by focusing on high-cost, low-use drug optimization, package sharing across facilities to reduce waste, and cabinet optimization to reduce stress on pharmacy technician labor.
Visit Omnicell.com to learn more today.