Self-assessing the size, scope of a high-volume pharmacy automation solution
The needs of pharmacies looking to incorporate high-volume automation into their central fill or mail-order prescription fulfillment process vary from operation to operation, Innovation executives and Binghamton University faculty members said at a symposium held earlier this month at the university's Watson Institute for Systems Excellence.
“Pharmacy is complex,” Innovation director of software systems engineering Alecia Lashier told the more than 60 people attending the two-day event. “We all have the same problems, and at the same time, we face very different problems.”
Factors ranging from the number of stores that will rely on a system to whether the prescriptions being filled are small orders, large orders or specialty drugs all need to be considered when looking to design an automated solution, she stressed.
“Solutions should be engineered to meet your unique requirements,” Lashier said. “Only then will you meet your goals.”
To help identify what will work best for each pharmacy operation, Lashier and Innovation pour over terabytes of data that is unique for every potential new customer. Particular emphasis, she said, is placed on transactional data to ensure that Innovation creates the correct system for its clients. However, she stressed, even that approach is not foolproof.
“Big data is great, but it also has points in it that are inaccurate,” Lashier said. “You need to scrub those points before you decide on how to design your system.”
Lashier, who talked about the unique requirements of each system, said that scrutinizing a pharmacy's transactional data is crucial because of the importance the nation's healthcare system is putting on driving patient outcomes.
Understanding pharmacy transactions linked to quality measures that improve outcomes leads to enhanced reimbursements, Lashier and other presenters at the symposium said. By driving outcomes, a pharmacy can demonstrate that it is an integral component of a patient's healthcare team and qualify to be paid for more of the services it provides.
“All of us involved in health care are involved in improving three things: population health, patient experiences and per capita costs,” Dr. Leon Cosler, the founding chair of the department of health outcomes and administrative sciences at Binghamton University's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, said.
“Transactions are the cornerstone of any healthcare information system,” he noted. “Health care increasingly will use analytics to drive clinical and operational improvements to meet business challenges.”
Academics and Innovation engineers said that no step in implementing an automated pharmacy system is as crucial as the design alternatives phase. Between half and three-quarters of a system's life-cycle costs are discovered during this process, they noted.
Ensuring a system's capabilities can not only accommodate a pharmacy's current needs, but also be able to handle evolving requirements and workload increases going forward is central to getting the right system, they stressed.
“I don't know if I've ever seen anyone fall in love with a machine and then go out and find the demand to make it run,” Innovation project manager and engineer Matt Warner told the audience, stressing that potential users of high-volume pharmacy automation need to clearly identify their requirements and the constraints they may face. Such factors as the size of the facility in which the system will be located, a company's budget and ensuring that a pharmacy's current operation is not affected by the addition of automation are just a few of the components that need to be explored, he said.
“A 'deliver it now and fix it later' approach will often manifest itself in lack of throughput,” Warner said. “Requirements drive the technology, never vice versa.”
“Pharmacy is complex,” Innovation director of software systems engineering Alecia Lashier told the more than 60 people attending the two-day event. “We all have the same problems, and at the same time, we face very different problems.”
Factors ranging from the number of stores that will rely on a system to whether the prescriptions being filled are small orders, large orders or specialty drugs all need to be considered when looking to design an automated solution, she stressed.
“Solutions should be engineered to meet your unique requirements,” Lashier said. “Only then will you meet your goals.”
To help identify what will work best for each pharmacy operation, Lashier and Innovation pour over terabytes of data that is unique for every potential new customer. Particular emphasis, she said, is placed on transactional data to ensure that Innovation creates the correct system for its clients. However, she stressed, even that approach is not foolproof.
“Big data is great, but it also has points in it that are inaccurate,” Lashier said. “You need to scrub those points before you decide on how to design your system.”
Lashier, who talked about the unique requirements of each system, said that scrutinizing a pharmacy's transactional data is crucial because of the importance the nation's healthcare system is putting on driving patient outcomes.
Understanding pharmacy transactions linked to quality measures that improve outcomes leads to enhanced reimbursements, Lashier and other presenters at the symposium said. By driving outcomes, a pharmacy can demonstrate that it is an integral component of a patient's healthcare team and qualify to be paid for more of the services it provides.
“All of us involved in health care are involved in improving three things: population health, patient experiences and per capita costs,” Dr. Leon Cosler, the founding chair of the department of health outcomes and administrative sciences at Binghamton University's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, said.
“Transactions are the cornerstone of any healthcare information system,” he noted. “Health care increasingly will use analytics to drive clinical and operational improvements to meet business challenges.”
Academics and Innovation engineers said that no step in implementing an automated pharmacy system is as crucial as the design alternatives phase. Between half and three-quarters of a system's life-cycle costs are discovered during this process, they noted.
Ensuring a system's capabilities can not only accommodate a pharmacy's current needs, but also be able to handle evolving requirements and workload increases going forward is central to getting the right system, they stressed.
“I don't know if I've ever seen anyone fall in love with a machine and then go out and find the demand to make it run,” Innovation project manager and engineer Matt Warner told the audience, stressing that potential users of high-volume pharmacy automation need to clearly identify their requirements and the constraints they may face. Such factors as the size of the facility in which the system will be located, a company's budget and ensuring that a pharmacy's current operation is not affected by the addition of automation are just a few of the components that need to be explored, he said.
“A 'deliver it now and fix it later' approach will often manifest itself in lack of throughput,” Warner said. “Requirements drive the technology, never vice versa.”