New Med Dispensers Add to Patient Safety, Efficiency at Upland Hills Health

In keeping with Upland Hills Health’s commitment to providing the ideal patient experience, the hospital pharmacy is working to keep patients even safer while they are in the hospital.

A new medication delivery system has recently been installed in the Obstetrics and Emergency departments, and will soon be installed in the Medical/Surgical department. The new delivery system is a vending machine-type design that ensures accuracy and safety in medication delivery and patient billing.

“This is a huge shift in how Pharmacy does things,” explained Pharmacy Director Mike Peterson. Pharmacy technicians previously delivered enough medications to each department to cover their patients for two days. The medications were then divided into drawers specific to each patient.

With the new Pyxis MedStation, the unit is filled by pharmacy technicians with a variety of medication, each locked in its own compartment inside a drawer. To unlock the medication, a nurse must enter a patient’s name and choose from a list of medications approved for that patient. The unit will unlock only the drawer and compartment containing that particular medication and tracks the number of pills requested.

The new system ensures more accurate billing as well, as the Pyxis machine is connected directly to Upland Hills Health’s patient billing system.

This step highlights the role the hospital pharmacy plays in patient care. October 21-27 marks National Hospital and Healthcare-system Pharmacy Week.