Omnicell—a Fort Worth-based company that aims to transform the pharmacy care delivery model—has announced its Central Med Automation Service, a subscription-based solution designed to help health systems establish and continuously optimize centralized medication management for Consolidated Pharmacy Services Centers (CPSCs) and similar operations.

The global company—which has around 3,400 employees on six continents and is traded on Nasdaq under the ticker OMCL—said that its Central Med Automation Service is aimed at streamlining medication dispensing from a central fulfillment area throughout the entire health system enterprise. It’s expected to enhance inventory visibility, scalability, and patient safety, Omnicell said.

High-tech robotics are at the heart of Omnicell’s XR2 Automated Central Pharmacy System [Video still: Omnicell]

“As the health system enterprise grows, we find that traditional methods of medication management can lead to multi-vendor environments that may complicate workflows, often creating unnecessary redundancy and increasing chances for error,” Randall Lipps, chairman, president, CEO, and founder of Omnicell, said in a statement.

“Pharmacy leaders recognize the potential value of centralizing pharmacy services, but often lack the capital budgets, resources, and expertise necessary to transform their infrastructure and scale it over time,” he added. “Omnicell’s Central Med Automation Service is designed to help health systems develop and execute a central fill strategy while providing the expert support necessary to help ensure this environment meets current and future medication management needs.”

Omnicell said that the Central Med Automation Service is intended to seamlessly integrate enterprise-wide robotics, smart devices, and intelligent software with expert services in an effort to help health systems establish and continuously optimize their centralized pharmacy operations to support medication management at acute care, remote clinics, and community sites.

Workimg with Omnicell’s XR2 Automated Central Pharmacy System. [Video still: Omnicell]

Features of the new system

Per Omnicell, the Central Med Automation Service includes:

Robotics & Smart Devices

Advanced medication storage and dispensing robotics are designed to automate critical fulfillment workflows, decrease human error, and maximize inventory control. With 100% barcode scanning and soonest-to-expire dispense capability, these robotics aim to improve inventory visibility, enhance efficiency, and increase patient safety – which should free pharmacy staff to focus on clinical initiatives rather than manual tasks.

Omnicell’s “intelligent” software is a key part if its Central Med Automation Service. [Video still: Omnicell]

Software

Central Pharmacy Manager for Central Med Automation Service: This “intelligent” software is specifically designed to support centralized medication management workflows within a CPSC, including medication ordering, receiving, picking, verifying, and restocking.

The Central Pharmacy Manager for Central Med Automation Service features enhanced processing power that is meant to handle high medication transaction volumes while streamlining distribution workflows within the central fulfillment environment.

Inventory Optimization Service: A combination of software and expert services, this solution is intended to provide enterprise-wide inventory visibility and management of medication par levels, expiration dates, and usage patterns delivered through data-rich dashboards.

Expert Services

Upfront and Ongoing Guidance: Omnicell experts work with each customer to tailor Central Med Automation Service to a customer’s specific needs, including initial medication storage, distribution, and personnel workflows. Ongoing, data-informed monitoring and updates are intended to ensure continuous operational optimization, efficiency, and patient safety for health system enterprises.

Continuous On-site Support: Dedicated on-site assistance to operate robotics and smart devices is designed to support round-the-clock operational efficiency and productivity.

KPI Performance Tracking: Omnicell expert services utilize data analytics to deliver operational performance metrics, helping to enable informed decision-making and continuous improvement in efficiency.

Omnicell’s XR2 Automated Central Pharmacy System [Video still: Omnicell]

‘Better and safer care’ 

Several complementary robotics, smart devices, and software tools can be added to extend the capabilities and potential value of Central Med Automation Service, Omnicell said.

Those include the company’s suite of pharmacy carousels and packagers, 340B program management software, and Central Pharmacy Manager Mobile Workstation, a new offering designed to untether pharmacy personnel from fixed terminals to accelerate order fulfillment.

“Medications are complex and managing them is even more complex, particularly at a time when we’re challenged with growing drug and pharmacy technician shortages,” Nilesh Desai, chief pharmacy officer at Baptist Health, said in a statement. “Centralizing pharmacy services helps us address these challenges in an effort to provide better and safer care to our patients and communities. Achieving this vision would not have been possible without business partners like Omnicell who, through Central Med Automation Service, have a stake in the game to make us successful.”

Omnicell said the Central Med Automation Service provides the flexibility to support hub and spoke, warehouse, and hybrid approaches to centralizing pharmacy operations.

Founded in 1992, Omnicell said it has been committed to transforming pharmacy care via outcomes-centric innovation designed to optimize clinical and business outcomes across all settings of care.

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