UMMC improves delivery turnaround time, enhances nurse satisfaction with MedEx system

Using MedEx, Aethon's comprehensive medication tracking system, the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) has improved delivery turnaround time, reduced personnel costs and enhanced nurse satisfaction. This was the overriding theme of a presentation by UMMC at the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) midyear conference in Anaheim. The presentation, "From Dock to Bedside: Automating the Entire Medication Use Process," revealed best practices for achieving a safer, streamlined, accountable and cost-saving medication use system.

“Aethon's robots have enabled us to automate the entire delivery and tracking process from the pharmacy to the nursing unit”

UMMC Director of Pharmacy Marc Summerfield revealed four improvements within the health system's pharmacy brought about by MedEx:

1. Greater dose accountability.
2. Reduced potential for missing medications.
3. Increased nurse time at the bedside.
4. Support of "green" initiative.

The MedEx system, which can be integrated with Aethon's autonomous TUG robots, is the industry's first fully automated chain-of-custody solution for hospital pharmacies. It combines robotics with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and readers, biometric (finger print) security, secure carts and lock boxes at nurse stations. MedEx tracks the real-time location and chain-of-custody history of any medication using the RFID tag on each dose.

"Aethon's robots have enabled us to automate the entire delivery and tracking process from the pharmacy to the nursing unit," said Summerfield.

MedEx has cut in half the number of steps required of nurses to obtain medications. "The TUGs have eliminated the need for signatures, copious paperwork, controlled substance counts and actual keys for the lock box," said UMMC's Katherine Mulligan, RN. "Once we retrieve the medications, sending the TUG on its way is as easy as closing the drawers and pressing the green 'go' button."