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Part 2: RFID Labels Open Doors for Continuous Supply Chain Improvement

In this Q&A, a manager of pharmacy operations explains why RFID-embedded vial labels just may change the world of inventory management and dispensing.

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Automated inventory management solutions are used for a variety of different products, including medications and equipment. Their popularity continues to grow in tracking drugs for efficiency benefits across health systems.

We talked with Eric Schaefer, PharmD, manager of pharmacy operations at Allegheny Health Network, about how using label systems from Kit Check and CCL Healthcare has opened doors, increased efficiency, and more.

This is part 2 of a two-part series. For an explanation of the RFID inlay technology, implementation details, and more, visit Part 1 here.

HCP: What is the RFID implementation process like for automated drug tracking at a health system or hospital?

Eric Schaefer: I was involved at my previous practice site with full implementation of trays in 45 ORs. That was around 120 anesthesia trays. I also redid our process for OR nursing kits as well as expanding it for medication safety and other uses. By the time I left my last facility which was about a 700-bed facility, we were using about a thousand tags a day. And we were still advancing.

I think the implementation process is very user-friendly and simple, regardless of the option you choose. With Kit Check, in the implementation phase they'll provide you with an assessment of your tray set up.

The challenge when you first implement is you don't have analytics yet for what your turns are or how many you're using. That's one of the beautiful things that you eventually get later down the road. In the initial setup, if you don't have the data, you might tag 180 or 200% of the stock in the trays, because then you would have enough to put into trays and then also have inventory.

Some places will stagger and convert trays as they come back to be stocked. Others will do them all at once—pulling trays and changing them out for an RFID-tagged tray. 

That's the process I went with because I didn't want there to be a tray sitting there, especially in an OR that wasn't used as frequently, and then two to five days after implementation this tray shows up and it needs complete conversion.

HCP: What new hardware or scanners need to be installed or implemented?

ES: Every experience that I had with Kit Check was very responsive in getting that product onsite and up and running. It's very easy because of the limited connections that you have to make with it being a box going through a scanner, going directly to ethernet and you connecting to a web-based program rather than having a computer that's connected to the actual device.

 HCP: Let’s talk KPIs and metrics. Should an ongoing monitoring system be established for continued improvement? How do you take action based on the data?

ES: There's a few different areas where you could look at this.

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