Why IV Automation Is Critical for Sterile Compounding

Stephanie Gallagher, PharmD, MBA
Senior Clinical Product Marketing Manager, Omnicell

Imagine if Amazon lost one out of every 10 packages. Or the airlines lost 10% of passenger bags. As consumers this would be unacceptable. So why, as clinicians, are we not focused on improving the documented one in 10 inaccuracies in sterile compounded products?

It’s well documented that manual processes are archaic and inaccurate, and organizations like ISMP, ASHP, and many others agree things need to change.

Leading IV safety advocates will explore the risks of sterile compounding and why IV compounding automation is critical to mitigating errors as part of our next Omnicell Live event, “Why IV Automation Is Critical for Sterile Compounding,” on Wednesday, February 25 at 10 am PST/1 pm EST.

Derek Gillespie, BPharm, MBA, who will share his personal experience managing a tragic IV error at an Oregon hospital and the impact of that error on everyone involved. After learning about the Oregon incident, Mark Neuenschwander, who spent his career focused on the safety benefits of bar coding medication, came out of retirement to form THRIV, an organization focused on promoting the importance of IV accuracy. As a champion of IV automation, Mark is a strong believer in leveraging technology to ensure the right drugs and correct dose is made for the right patient.

David Webster, associate director of Pharmacy Operations and assistant professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center will join Mark and Derek to talk about URMC’s IV automation journey, and the major challenges and risks of sterile compounding. Dave has been a leader in adoption of IV automation and will share how IV compounding robot and iv workflow solutions are improving safety and helping to reduce errors across all areas of sterile compounding. With a focus on patient safety, URMC’s long-term goal is to produce all sterile doses through robotics or IV workflow systems, consistent with ISMP and THRIV recommendations.

DISCLAIMER

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author(s). These views are always subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and may not be held in perpetuity.