The Royal Ottawa Hospital is one of the first psychiatric hospitals in Canada to implement a centralized packaging system and point-of-care dispensing units designed by McKesson Canada. The implementation process has started in the Royal Ottawa Hospital and its sister facility, the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital.
The hospital is introducing a combination of automation technology in order to increase medication dispensing efficiency but most importantly to increase patient safety.
As a first step towards these goals, the Royal Ottawa Hospital will implement PACMEDtm automation to service both hospitals. This technology helps eliminate medication errors by distributing and packaging individual bar-coded medication sachets, while minimizing manual, repetitive tasks in the pharmacy.
In addition to this centralized technology, point-of-care medication dispensing, AcuDose-Rx units, will be implemented at both the Royal Ottawa Hospital and the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital.
The new drug dispensing units function like an automated bank machine on each of the patient care units, with a touch screen and on-line information about the treatment regime for each patient. Daily medications will be accessed though the touch screen, resulting in a single dose of medication.
With the Royal Ottawa Hospital’s new facility set to open in December 2006, the automated pharmacy systems will integrate seamlessly with the wireless technology planned for the telephone, computer, and Internet systems in the new facility.
“One of the benefits of building a brand new facility is that we can put in place
leading-edge technology that directly benefits the safety and recovery of our patients,” said Bruce H. Swan, CEO of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. “This new pharmacy system is the first of its kind east of Toronto, and will bring tremendous efficiencies in the way we deliver specialized mental health services.”
The McKesson Canada pharmacy system provides an automated packaging function based on each patient’s individual needs, which helps eliminate medication errors and ensures secure storage and rapid dispensing of all drugs required on patient care units. The AcuDose-Rx tracks all medications dispensed, how and when they are administered, and by which clinician to which patient.
“McKesson Canada is pleased to provide automation solutions to the Royal Health Care Group and assist them in reaching their goal of improving patient safety and being a leader in specialized mental health care," said Olivier Martin, Director of McKesson Automation Solutions.
According to Steve Layton, Director of Pharmacy for the Royal Ottawa Hospital, the hospital dispenses $700,000 worth of over 52 psychiatric medications each year. The largest volume of these medications is clozapine, a drug used to treat schizophrenia.
“The error rate at the Royal Ottawa Hospital is below average, but we want to reduce it as much as possible. This technology is a big step in the right direction,” said Layton.
For additional information please contact:
Kathryn Hendrick, Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs, Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, 613.722.6521, ext.6755 or cell: 416. 277.6281, khendrick@rogers.blackberry.ca
Fraçoise Leblanc, Coordinator Communications, McKesson Canada: telephone 514.832.8287, via email communication@mckesson.ca, or through our Web Site www.mckesson.ca.
About McKessonCanada: McKesson Canada is the leading provider of logistics as well as information products and services within the Canadian health care marketplace. McKesson Canada offers a range of integrated solutions through our five business units which are McKesson Pharmaceutical, McKesson Logistics Solutions, McKesson Automation, McKesson Health Solutions, and McKesson Information Solutions.
About McKesson Automation Solutions products:
AcuDose-Rx: an automated cabinet system for the secure storage and rapid dispensing of narcotics and other medications on hospital nursing units.
PACMED: an automated, high speed, multiple canister, tablet and capsule barcoding, packaging, and dispensing device for the central pharmacy.
About Royal Ottawa Health Care Group (ROHG)
The Royal Ottawa Health Care Group (ROHG) provides specialty mental health care in Eastern Ontario. The ROHG is comprised of the Royal Ottawa Hospital, the Royal Ottawa Place, Brockville Psychiatric Hospital, Institute of Mental Health Research and the Royal Ottawa Health Care Foundation.