Technology & IT | Sunday 25 January, 2015 11:49 am |

CareFusion, a leading global medical technology company, today announced that King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH&RC) in Riyadh and Jeddah has selected CareFusion to expand its automated medication management process in the out-patient and in-patient pharmacies.

KFSH & RC in Riyadh and Jeddah is planning to implement the new Pyxis® ES platform of solutions, as well as the Pyxis Pharmogistics® inventory management software and automated carousels operated by Pyxis Pharmogistics. The barcode-driven software integrates directly with the hospital IT system to help the pharmacy accurately order, manage and track medications. The software provides users with an automated workflow queue and manages inventory in all locations—including carousels, static shelves and refrigerators.

“This barcoding technology helps free our pharmacists of logistical tasks,” said Dr. Ahmed Al-Jedai, Director Pharmaceutical Care Division, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh, KSA. “Our team can potentially complete medication fulfillment, verification and restocking processes more efficiently. In combination with the CareFusion Knowledge Portal, the overall solution can help us achieve our mission to provide comprehensive pharmaceutical care to all patients in a safe, efficient and cost-effective manner. The analytics can help us find areas for improvement through standard reports that are very easy to run.”

As part of the improved medication management process, KFSH & RC Riyadh will upgrade all current Pyxis MedStation® systems to the new Pyxis MedStation® ES system to simplify medication management with enterprise-wide technology.

“In order to provide the highest level of specialized health care, we are working with CareFusion to benefit from the power of the Pyxis ES platform of solutions,” said Mr. Abdulgader Almoeen, RPh, MHI CPHIMS, Manager Pharmacy Automation and Support, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh, KSA. “The Pyxis ES platform communicates with the Cerner Millenium® EMR to help simplify medication administration and provides our nursing and pharmacy staff with the information they need to enhance medication safety and optimize workflow processes.“

KFSH & RC in Jeddah, closely partnering with CareFusion, has already implemented the full Pyxis ES platform, at the ward, the operating theatres and the pharmacy. The strengths of the platform is the ability to integrate Pyxis ES solutions with health information technology (HIT) systems across the health system.

“We decided to implement Pyxis technologies in our hospital based on the previous positive experiences encountered with Pyxis in many health care facilities in Saudi Arabia” said Mr. Tarek Hassan El Kady, Specialist Pharmacy Automation and Support Services. “We expect that the system will improve the overall medication process workflow in inpatient areas, increase patient’s care and enhance the control of narcotic medications.”

Supporting centralized control of medication dispensing systems and providing data whenever needed for immediate decision-making and reporting is critical for KFSH & RC.

“Implementation of the Pyxis ES system has helped us revamp our inpatient medication distribution system,” said Dr. Mohammad Elfaour, Head of Pharmaceutical Care Division in KFSH & RC in Jeddah. “Inventory control on nursing units is certainly enhanced and medications are appropriately and securely stored in medication rooms based on established standards. In addition, feedback from stake holders in Pharmaceutical Care and Nursing has been very positive.”

CareFusion will be demonstrating the latest innovations for pharmacy automation solutions and the power of the Pyxis ES platform in hall 4, booth D50 at the Arab Health Conference being held from 26-29 January at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.