Allegheny General Hospital
The Challenge
Like many health systems, Allegheny General Hospital supplemented internal compounding operations with pre-mixed compounded sterile products (CSPs) purchased from 503B suppliers. When its primary 503B vendor went out of business, AGH switched to another 503B vendor. When that company also went out of business, the pharmacy struggled to keep up with demand. Shortages and waste issues hindered day-to-day operations and had the potential to negatively impact patient care.
The Solution
After a methodical review of technology solutions, pharmacy leaders established an insourcing program with the Omnicell Central Pharmacy IV Compounding Service. This turnkey solution enabled AGH to regain control of critical CSP production using the tools, technicians, and technology provided by Omnicell, including an i.v.STATION™ Non-hazardous Compounding Robot. The insourcing program also instituted sterility testing, stability testing, and operational best practices for CSP production, quarantine, and recordkeeping.
The Impact
Within about a month, AGH's insourcing program was producing CSPs at full capacity, providing clear benefits including standardized sterility testing, greater control over the CSP supply chain, improved operational efficiency, and standardized CSP production and processes.
Within six months of switching from 503B suppliers to the insourcing program, AGH produced approximately 25,000 bags and syringes, saving nearly $700,000. They also experienced less medication waste through enhanced beyond-use-dating (BUD) processes. "If you don't measure, you don't know. That's the challenge with manual compounding," said Arpit Mehta, Director of Pharmacy. "With our automated solutions, each prep is measured with gravimetric/volumetric verification. It gives us 100% confidence that everything compounded by the robot is accurate."
Spurred by the success of its insourcing program, AGH pharmacy leaders expanded by adding a second non-hazardous IV compounding robot to double production to about 100,000 bags and syringes per year while increasing savings to about $2 million, introducing IV workflow automation to each hospital in the health system, and standardizing all compounding processes, BUD procedures, and documentation procedures.
Visit Omnicell.com/IV-Room to learn more today.