ATLANTA, September 12, 2012 – McKesson today announced that its hospital pharmacy automation solutions are now available to the 3,000+ acute-care member hospitals of Amerinet, a leading national healthcare solutions organization based in St. Louis, Mo. Under the new agreement, Amerinet members can purchase McKesson’s complete suite of automation solutions to help their organizations more safely and efficiently manage key pharmacy operations, including medication ordering, dispensing, administration, charge capture and inventory management, ultimately helping their bottom line.
“McKesson’s full suite of pharmacy automation solutions greatly improves efficiency,” said Gary Freeman, Amerinet vice president of pharmacy. “In addition, Amerinet members can access a broader range of products and services to address their diverse challenges, which vary based on patient population, geography, performance objectives and budgetary resources.”
Solutions available to Amerinet members include the company’s AcuDose-Rx® medication dispensing cabinets, which allow hospital nurses to dispense medications faster and more efficiently, while pharmacists have greater control over cabinet inventory management. AcuDose-Rx functions in any dispensing environment, and its RightStock™ “set it and forget it” feature automatically monitors and adjusts medication levels based on usage, reducing costly stock outs and waste. As a result, hospital pharmacists can better manage inventories, help ensure that needed medications are readily available, and spend less administrative time making inventory decisions and analyzing reports.
These solutions and others are supported by the latest Connect-Rx® software release, which helps close the loop on medication management by integrating automation solutions from the bedside to the loading dock.
“The hospital pharmacy represents 25% of an average hospital’s total inventory value, so pharmacy inventory management is critical to the bottom line,” said Kraig McEwen, president, McKesson Automation. “Amerinet’s hospital members can now leverage a comprehensive, integrated set of pharmacy automation solutions from a single provider while benefitting from Amerinet’s purchasing efficiencies.”
Also under the expanded agreement, Amerinet member hospitals can use McKesson Point of Use Supply™ to help improve inventory control and streamline caregiver involvement with supply duties, especially in critical profit centers like cardiology and surgery. McKesson Point of Use Supply helps simplify hospital supply chain management by automating critical supply functions at the point of use, including requisitioning, patient charging, inventory management and information capture with a single scan. The integrated offering incorporates open bins, bar codes, mobile carts, and cabinets, including RFID options.
Using pharmacy automation and other healthcare IT solutions to improve financial performance and quality is one hallmark of McKesson’s Better Health 2020TM strategy. The strategy is designed to help healthcare providers achieve better patient care, business health and connectivity as health reform unfolds. Critical success factors addressed by Better Health 2020 include maximizing the value of technology, reducing costs while improving quality, connecting and coordinating care, and managing advanced payment models.
