Right-Sourcing is the Ultimate Emergency Response
The COVID-19 pandemic gave the public an inside look at what many in the health care industry already knew; there is a tremendous amount of stress, not only on health care workers, but on health care systems themselves.
Early on, it was clear that there would be immense pressures on the supply chains to maintain the status quo - despite the many hurdles that the pandemic laid out. Drug shortages, which were common before COVID-19, became even more prevalent as the supply chains became strained, putting health systems on edge due to circumstances that were seemingly out of their control.
However, utilizing the right Compounding Management System can reduce your reliance on outside parties, and help to secure your supply chain in the event of an emergency.
Lessons Learned During COVID-19
Early in the pandemic, experts will still learning about the virus itself, and a combination of unknowns and a well-deserved abundance of caution led to the disposal of potentially compromised inventory. As with all things, as time passed, our understanding of COVID-19 improved, and hospitals were able to improve their practices and become more efficient. Some common strategies included:
- Modifying their compounding process to use any existing vials on hand
- Returning any unused product or finding another area of the pharmacy where they can be used.
- Encouraging ongoing reporting and communication with the hospital supply chain manager regarding drug use metrics
- Conducting anticipatory batch compounding to prepare for future shortages
Securing the Supply Chain with a Compounding Management System
There is a lot to consider when deciding what Compounding Management System is best equipped for your needs. Many systems are rigid and hard to use, cumbersome, or unable to adapt to changing demands or workflows. Finding a highly configurable system is paramount when future proofing your operation.
Having the ability to compound drugs in-house greatly reduces your reliance on 503B Outsourcing Facilities, and gives you greater control of the drugs that reach your patients. Ensuring that only legitimate products enter your supply chain.
Inventory Management to Mitigate Drug Waste and Avoid Drug Shortages
Inventory Management is a crucial component of any pharmacy operation, and only becomes more important in emergency situations, when the last thing you want to do is let crucial drugs go to waste. A Compounding Management System is able to simplify your Inventory Management processes.
Having the ability to efficiently break product down into smaller doses can stretch your inventory, ensuring all of your patients are cared for. Additionally, quickly, and accurately, labeling your new doses can save your staff time, when every second counts.
Unfortunately, drug shortages are not a new thing to the health care industry. With the increased visibility into your inventory that comes with a Compounding Management System, you can make sure that your pharmacy has the product it needs, when it needs it.
An Improved Workflow and an Electronic Single Source of Truth
One of the primary benefits of a Compounding Management System is the ability to configure a controlled, repeatable, process for your compounding needs. Once established, the automated process will maximize your process efficiency and reduce the risk of human error.
In addition to the benefits of the automated workflow, having an Electronic Batch Record further reduces your compliance burden, while improving workflow efficiency. Since each step is automatically documented, the days of tracking calculations or other processes by hand are gone.
With the right Compounding Management System, you can ensure that every step of the process has been followed correctly and documented, in an easy to retrieve location – for every dose.
The Benefits of the Assure-Trak® Compounding Management System
The Assure-Trak® Compounding Management System was designed by pharmacists, for pharmacists, to strike the balance between process and quality control, improving patient safety, while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Assure-Trak® Compounding Management System meets the compounding needs of a single hospital, an outpatient infusion center, or a central fill facility capable of distributing within your network of affiliated hospitals. As a Software as a Service (SaaS) application, Assure-Trak® Compounding Management System is highly scalable to your operations demands.
Assure-Trak® Compounding Management System utilizes a cloud-based approach, reducing the burden on your IT department, and includes a Formulary Management System, manually validated, and updated, with new NDCs and their required compounding information, with no maintenance from your staff.
Take advantage of an automated Compounding Management System to reduce waste and the risk of human error. With an automated process you can rest easy knowing each step, for every dose, was followed correctly, and documented in a single, easily retrievable, Electronic Batch Record.
Learn first-hand from a ConsortiEX Customer about how Assure-Trak can elevate your pharmacy operation and assist your COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, here. Or contact us directly, today!