That process – all done manually with paper records – sometimes took her multiple tries. You see, she would start to do the restock and a call would come in. As she is also a firefighter/paramedic, she would be forced to – very quickly – pack everything up, place it back into the locked cabinet where they kept all the medications, and head out for the call. Upon her return, she would have to start the restocking process all over again. All in all, it was taking her, on average, a total of 4 ½ hours a month to restock the four drug boxes.
She knew there had to be a better way. With the backing of her chief, she began researching automated solutions. From her ten years as a medic in the ED, she was familiar with the Pyxis™ machines that dispensed medications at the nurse stations; however, she knew Battle Run didn’t need something to that scale.
“Having BD Pyxis™ MedBank™ has cut down the steps in my workflow A LOT. I wouldn’t want to do it any other way from now on!” says Teresa
But her research led her to BD Pyxis™ MedBank™ and she knew that she’d found the solution that was the right fit for their station. With the help of a very supportive fire board and chief, they began rearranging their budget to accommodate the purchase of a BD Pyxis™ MedBank™ Mini and they went live in December 2023. In just three months they have already realized benefits of adding automation. In addition to the significant reduction in time it takes Teresa to restock their drug boxes, they are seeing savings in drug spending, have an increased level of security for the medications, and have reporting capabilities that they’ve never experienced before.
Positive outcomes through reporting.
In addition to time savings on the restocking process, Teresa has also noticed that the station has better inventory control since implementing automation. The station has a four-page list of meds that they stock, and at any one time 35-40 different meds are carried in the kits that rotate onto the ambulance.
In a manual system, that was a lot to manage! Now, because they get weekly reports from the
BD Pyxis™ MedBank™, the process is much more manageable. They are able to see what drugs are moving and what ones are expiring. The reporting capabilities support medication inventory management – and they’ve seen reduced cost in their drug spend — thanks to a higher level of understanding of trends and usage.
Support for controlled substance management.
Prior to automation, the department kept medications stocked in a locked cabinet in the ambulance bay. The bay is a heavily trafficked area of the station, where they take school groups through and hold events. While Battle Run was diligent about locking and tracking access to the cabinet, they were cognizant of the risk of drug diversion. The recent American Society of Health System Pharmacy (ASHP) guidelines on Preventing Diversion of Controlled Substances highlight recommendations for managing controlled substances with risk points for the medication use process while suggesting surveillance and levels of control to identify potential diversion. Having a cabinet with the level of security that BD Pyxis™ MedBank™ supports placing it in an open area. On top of that, the BD Pyxis™ MedBank™, with BioMetric access technology, allowed them to control access at a very individualized level. Basic EMTs can only access drugs they’re allowed to dispense and those personnel with higher security levels can have full access.
Overall, the addition of automation has been a gamechanger for the station. From cost and time savings to enhanced security and reporting, Teresa and her team at Battle Run couldn’t be happier with the benefits they’ve seen. “Having BD Pyxis™ MedBank™ has cut down the steps in my workflow A LOT. I wouldn’t want to do it any other way from now on!” says Teresa.
This testimonial reflects the personal experience of the particular individual providing it and is not intended to be a recommendation or a referral of any device or procedure. This testimonial is not necessarily representative of what anyone else using our products may experience. Neither Becton, Dickinson and Company nor its affiliates (“BD”) warrant that any of the statements contained in this testimonial are accurate, complete, or will apply to any particular individual’s circumstances. This testimonial may have been edited for clarity or brevity. The person providing this testimonial has not been compensated by BD for their time and effort in preparing this testimonial for BD’s further use and distribution.
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