20 WAYS improving patient care & pharmacy cost containment American Health Packaging Unit Dose Products AHP provides a full line of pre-packaged unit dose products to health systems nationwide to support BCMA and promote efficiency in hospital pharmacy operations. Winter 201 1 issue I heal th system • infusion 37 General Manager: Rick Knight Business Division of AmerisourceBergen Toll Free: (800) 707-4621 Phone: (614) 492-8177 Fax: (614) 492-0448 Location: Columbus, OH Website: americanhealthpackaging.com Product Overview Patient safety is a critical issue for health systems. As a result, many health systems seek bar coded products to dispense to patients. Bar coded products used in conjunction with bar code medication administration (BCMA) systems, automate the “five rights.” American Health Packaging supports this health systems’ priority with its growing line of pre-packaged unit dose products. Safety in Every Dose Bar coded to the dose level, our unit dose line has grown substantially in the last couple of years. In fact, we have the fastest growing line in the industry. And our products support all the major therapeutic groups. Recent product introductions include: Meclizine HCl, Morphine Sulfate ER Cll, Sotalol HCl and Bisoprolol Fumarate. A specific niche in unit dose that American Health Packaging targets is exclusive unit dose items - products not offered in a bar coded packaging format by other suppliers. About one-fourth of the line is comprised of exclusive items. Therefore, providers look to American Health Packaging when seeking niche or “difficult to find” unit dose items. Exclusive UD items include: Dronabinol SGC Clll, Nateglinide, Isosorbide Mononitrate ER, Vitamin D and Zidovudine. As an additional safety measure, our packages are color-coded to better distinguish them on the pharmacy shelf prior to dispensing. We also use “tall man” lettering (TML) to differentiate very similar product names. There are many benefits to AHP pre-packaged unit dose products: Safety - Companies that specialize in pharmaceutical packaging are highly regulated and scrutinized by the FDA. cGMP compliance ensures that products are packaged in a regulated and safe environment. Packaging professionals are adept at ensuring the product’s lot number, NDC and expiration date are recorded correctly and legibly. Pharmacy Efficiency - Health systems are experts in the care of patients. Oftentimes, however, they’re not as well suited or staffed for packaging tasks. Packaging can become an added burden to a department already at capacity. Packaging in-house requires close supervision and a number of checkpoints to ensure it is done correctly. Cost Savings - Establishing a packaging area within the hospital pharmacy is costly. Staff must be hired and trained to complete the associated packaging tasks. Pre-packaged unit dose products minimize both fixed capital equipment costs and the associated increase in staff overhead costs to package in-house. Liability Management - Packaging in the hospital setting shifts the legal burden of accuracy in packaging and dispensing to hospital associates and dispensing caregivers. Pre-packaged product, however, maintains a legal burden to be correct as delivered to the hospital. Pre-packaged UD helps to protect pharmacy personnel and dispensing nurses from additional legal exposure. About AHP A subsidiary company of AmerisourceBergen, American Health Packaging’s manufacturing facility is registered with the FDA and fully adheres to current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). Industry veterans with nearly 100 years of collective experience lead the quality and manufacturing departments. American Health Packaging is licensed by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to package Schedule II to V controlled substances. Visit our website, americanhealthpackaging.com, for more information.
20Ways Winter 2011 Issue: Health System - Infusion
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