Ambulatory surgery centers require medication safety and operational efficiency to provide the utmost care for their patients, but too often the manual processes associated with the management of medication and supplies are prone to error and missed charges.
By implementing pharmacy and supply management technologies, manual processes become automated, ensuring inventory is tightly controlled and tracked. There are several reasons why automated solutions are a good fit for your ambulatory surgery center:
1. Narcotic Management
Opiate addiction is a growing problem in the U.S., and many people are getting their narcotics by obtaining them illegally, often from medical facilities. Utilizing automated technology solutions to manage narcotics provides secure, two-lock access control, fingerprint identification and witness features. Electronic reporting and usage logs track all interactions with the narcotics, which helps reduce the risk of diversion.
2. Cost Control
To help maintain lower costs, ambulatory surgery centers must be as efficient as possible when checking their inventory and reordering supplies. Having excess inventory can result in expired medications and unwarranted waste. By implementing automated solutions, you will have real-time visibility to inventory levels, expiration dates, usage of controlled substances, medications, and supplies. Some automated systems also have the ability to integrate with your suppliers to streamline the ordering process.
3. Efficiency
The amount of time staff spends with patients is a top priority. Automated solutions reduce the amount of time staff spends on inventory management and reordering of medication and supplies, resulting in more time to focus on patient care. These solutions also maximize the productivity of your facility by ensuring items are on hand when you need them and decreases the time spent on labor and inventory management.
4. DEA Compliance
As ambulatory surgery centers grow in popularity, they are coming under more scrutiny for regulatory bodies, such as the DEA. By implementing automated technology solutions, business intelligence reporting is available which provides drug log reporting required by the DEA, detailed discrepancy reports, item transaction logs and user compliance reporting which enable management to take corrective actions when diversions occur. Replacing the manual processes involved in compliance reporting serves to improve not only regulatory compliance but also facility efficiencies.
Managing narcotics and supply inventory is an everyday concern and recovering from an inventory problem can be a challenging and expensive process. However, by implementing a cloud-based automated solution, you can maximize the productivity and increase the bottom line of your ambulatory surgery center.
About the Author
Anton Visser is the president and CEO of Phoenix-based Cubex®, a global provider of cloud-based products and services that help healthcare facilities measurably reduce the total cost of ownership associated with medications and supplies. The company develops market-leading technologies including Cubex SupplyBank automated dispensing systems, Cubex MedFlex and MedBank narcotic management stations, QBud wireless access devices, and the myQLink cloud-based software and business intelligence application. For more information, visit www.cubexsystem.com.