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Refrigerators Maintain Medication Temperatures at UNC Health Care

Medical-grade refrigerators provide quiet operation and energy efficiency in storing temperature-sensitive medications within UNC’s 10-facility, 3,400-bed healthcare system.

Discussion about temperature-sensitive medications typically centers around maintaining specific temperature ranges through the supply chain, from point of manufacture to a hospital or facility. Yet once these medications reach a healthcare facility, they often must be stored within that same temperature range until they’re administered to the patient.

Call it the “last mile,” but at the University of North Carolina Health Care system it may refer to the last few feet to the patient. UNC Health Care is a not-for-profit integrated healthcare system owned by the state of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill. Established in 1998, the system includes the UNC School of Medicine Medical Center and nineaffiliate hospitals/hospital systems across the state. In all, the system provides 3,400 beds for patient care.

Since 2015, several of these UNC Health Care facilities have employed medical-grade Evolve™-brand refrigerators from Phononic to keep patient medications in the 2°C to 8°C range.

Phononic says the Evolve medical-grade refrigerators meet CDC guidelines for controlled storage of vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs. Evolve units use proprietary solid-state technology and feature precise temperature control designed to meet NEC requirements. Temperature is controlled to a less-than-one-degree variability, all while operating at a quiet level of less than 35 decibels at close proximity. That means the units provide uniform, precise and reliable cooling without the noise, toxicity and other detriments of conventional vapor compression refrigerators.

The units use cleanroom-compatible solid-state heat pump technology coupled with a non-hazardous, non-toxic refrigerant. Evolve refrigerators integrate a temperature monitoring system with NIST-certified glycol and air sensors. The doors feature keyless entry with a password-protected lock. The Evolve refrigerators allow users to log in locally or via WiFi-enabled remote storage.

Benefits for UNC Health Care system

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