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Publix, an American chain pharmacy with 980 pharmacies, has signed an agreement with AmerisourceBergen to use AmerisourceBergen’s RFID drug management system Cubixx to track the pharmacy’s specialty pharmaceutical products. The Cubixx system can also allow pharmacies to automatically track products that are paid for when used, such as consignment sales of specialty drugs.
For the past ten years, ASD, AmerisourceBergen’s specialty medicine distribution department, has been providing Cubixx solutions to emergency departments, pharmacies, clinics, hospitals and even patients. Chris Flori, VP of ASD Business Innovation, said that specialty drugs are infrequently used and very expensive, so they pose some challenges to the supply of medical providers. Therefore, medical service providers such as hospitals have begun to adopt a consignment model, where they only store a small amount of inventory and charge only when dispensing medicines. However, without RFID technology, manual tracking of these drugs is a difficult task.
(Each Cubixx refrigerated cabinet has a built-in UHF RFID reader and reader antenna for automatic drug inventory)
Flori said: “Publix and AmerisourceBergen both focus on providing patient-centric solutions. With the increase in the use of specialty drugs, many patients continue to choose to buy from this pharmacy out of trust in Publix.”
At present, many pharmacies have begun to use Cubixx inventory management solutions and provide storage cabinets for users of high-priced specialty drugs. In this way, the Cubixx system can track the time the user takes the medicine out of the storage cabinet to place an order for replenishment orders. If the patient does not take these medicines in the dosage prescribed by the doctor, the system will also send a reminder to the doctor.
Cubixx storage units are available in various sizes from 1.7 cubic feet to 56 cubic feet, and companies can use one or more storage units. Each storage unit has a built-in UHF RFID reader and an RFID reader antenna. The manufacturers or models of the readers and antennas are not the same, and they are determined according to the specific conditions of use in the pharmacy. The reader can be used at minus 30 degrees Celsius, so the storage unit can be used as a refrigerator or freezer. Cubixx units and data can be customized, Flori said: “Information is protected by HIPAA, and ASD can ensure patient privacy is protected.”
After the storage unit collects the RFID data, it transmits the information back to the Cubixx software and integrates it into the management software. Cubixx also provides an entrance where authorized parties can access and obtain information.
The medicines stored in the unit are attached with passive EPC UHF RFID tags. These tags are provided by multiple suppliers (selected according to appearance and usage scenarios). ASD encodes the label and binds product information (such as batch number, expiration date, manufacturer). These data will be stored in the Cubixx software.
When the medicine is received, the pharmacy staff only needs to put the product into the refrigerating unit, and the reader will read the tag ID. In this way, the software will update the drug status at the same time. The Cubixx system monitors and collects the temperature of each unit, the expiration time of the product, etc.
When taking medicine, the employee opens the refrigerator first. Pharmacies can also choose to add an identity authentication module. In this case, only authorized employees can take out the medicine. After the medicine is taken out, the time, date and information of the person who took it out will be recorded in the system.
When the medicine is removed, the Cubixx system will also record this action. If the Cubixx software and the pharmacy management software are integrated with each other, the management software will also be updated simultaneously.
In addition, the system can also automatically replenish drugs according to the standards set by the pharmacy or the manufacturer.
Flori said: “Automatic tracking and accurate inventory data can help Publix maximize ROI and reduce transaction time. Using Cubixx products, Publix pharmacists can get temperature-controlled products faster, and know that medicines will never be out of stock. The product meets safety requirements.”
Flori says this can reduce the management burden on pharmacists. Let them free up more time to communicate with patients.
Flori said: “We expect that the number of specialty drugs will continue to grow. This also places higher demands on pharmacists in helping patients manage chronic diseases and high-priced specialty drugs.”
(Exclusive manuscript of rfid world network, please indicate the source author for reprinting!)
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