Is Your Hospital Storing Drugs Efficiently?

Drug Storage in Hospitals

The storage of drugs throughout a hospital complex requires careful handling for several reasons. Medications can become compromised quickly and easily due to their sensitive nature. Collection and storage of drugs must adhere to the best practices set forth by the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). Safe handling practices should be in place and meet stringent OSHA requirements to avoid human exposure. Hospital drug storage from the pharmacy to various clinical areas must, at a minimum, meet these requirements:

Storage Timeliness

Expeditious storage is key, as drugs can expire or lose their efficacy. Should they expire, it can result in a costly write off. 

Temperature Control

The optimum temperature to store drugs varies depending on the medication but generally falls within specific ranges. It must remain constant throughout the storage process.

Handling Safety

While technology is available to optimize drug storage in hospitals, ongoing concerns of potential issues that could lead to contamination have made hospitals reluctant to move away from continuing to use manual methods for drug storage and retrieval.

This reluctance to automate drug storage methods is understandable as there are significant potential downsides to manual storage:

• Storage delays caused by manual handling across the hospital campus.
• Exposure to natural elements and temperature changes.
• Human handling errors resulting in contamination or incorrect storage.
• Ongoing costs incurred using personnel for storage and retrieval tasks.
  
  

Due to these and other factors, many hospitals are revisiting the benefits of upgrading to the use of technology to handle drug storage.

Pharmacy Automation Systems

One technology that is well suited for drug storage in hospitals is pharmacy automation systems. Most hospitals already use some form of automation to manage their pharmacy operations. Everything from pill dispensing to inventory management can be efficiently handled through these systems, ensuring that medications are stored correctly and retrieved promptly when needed.

It is important to note, however, that some of the older pharmacy automation systems that have not been upgraded may not be ideally equipped to handle drugs in ways that adhere to today’s best practices. Newer systems with updated components, however, have evolved to meet the most stringent handling and storage requirements, including the following:

• Chain of custody visibility, through the use of RFID badge readers to identify the individual handling the medication, proper labeling to identify it, and tracking through every phase of storage and retrieval.
• Storage units that are temperature-controlled and secure to ensure the integrity of the medications.
• Reporting to review ongoing system efficiency and chain of custody information.
  
  

Before making the move, however, it is important to ask your provider the right questions.

Questions to Ask

As pharmacy automation systems continue to evolve to meet a high degree of reliability and consistency in storing sensitive materials, more hospitals are trusting them to manage drug storage. That doesn’t mean, however, that you should begin using a pharmacy automation system for drug storage without fully vetting your existing system and, if necessary, purchasing a new one. Before you make a move, here are five questions to ask your provider:

• How is the temperature controlled? The storage system should be located in a temperature-controlled environment.
• How secure are the storage units? Units should not only be temperature-controlled but should also be secure to prevent unauthorized access. They should be easy for clinicians to access securely.
• Can you ensure smooth storage and retrieval? Look for systems engineered to keep the drugs safe and intact. Ask about programming with variable settings to ensure proper storage conditions.
• Do you provide full chain of custody visibility? Make sure they include timestamps to show time lapses and ensure expeditious retrieval. RFID badge readers and tracking should also be in place to ensure chain of custody visibility.
• How do you ensure optimum system performance? Your supplier should provide a comprehensive maintenance support plan that includes regular system updates and 24/7/365 access to skilled technicians.

Making the Move

Pharmacy automation systems have been used by hospitals for decades to quickly, efficiently, and safely store and retrieve sensitive materials throughout their facilities. Some of the newer systems have been designed or upgraded to ensure safe, secure storage of drugs.

When evaluating the use of automation systems for hospital drug storage, look for those that can be integrated with your other hospital systems and operations. Ask your provider to demonstrate how their pharmacy automation system can store and retrieve your drugs and other sensitive materials more swiftly, safely, and efficiently than manual methods.

New systems and those upgraded with new components make the automation of drug storage a viable option for hospitals. For those who make the move away from outdated manual storage, the benefits are considerable. Pharmacy automation system storage of drugs will not only bring increased efficiency, cost reduction, and a more secure storage solution, it will optimize the use of clinicians and other key personnel, providing for a higher quality of patient-centered care.