Talyst Partners with Wellfount Pharmacy to Eliminate Medication Waste in Long-Term Care
Talyst InSite™, the first pharmacy automation system designed specifically for long-term care facilities, enables on-demand dispensing and saves nursing time
Bellevue, WA (PRWEB) May 7, 2009
Talyst announced today its new partnership with Wellfount Pharmacy, an Indianapolis-based pharmacy that services long-term care facilities. Wellfount will implement Talyst's InSite Remote Dispensing System in long-term care facilities to increase efficiency and reduce medication waste and errors. Talyst made the announcement today at the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) Midyear Meeting in Orlando, Florida.
"We looked at other dispensing solutions but Talyst was the only player that really understood the long-term care market," said Paul Leamon, president and CEO of Wellfount. "The complexities and regulations within the long-term care make it ripe for automation. We're working with Talyst to provide the technology that will save nurses time, make patients safer, and decrease medication waste -- positively impacting both the environment and the bottom line."
Traditionally, Wellfount would deliver medication inventory to long-term care facilities in 14- or 28-day supplies, creating medication waste whenever a patient's prescription changed, or the patient transferred facilities or passed away. Furthermore, according to Leamon, the patients Wellfount services take an average 12 prescriptions a day. With different doctors, pharmacists, administrators and nurses involved in each individual prescription, yet not always in direct contact with one another, the potential for error was always a top concern.
With the InSite Remote Dispensing System, Talyst places a freestanding, secure dispensing unit on site at the long-term care facility. When it is time for a patient to receive their medications, the InSite unit dispenses patient-specific multi-dose packets, each printed with the patient's name, the name of the medication, and a verifying bar code. The nurse scans the bar code with a hand‐held scanner, verifies the patient and medication information, and administers the medications. Because the prescriptions are dispensed on-demand, there is practically no opportunity for error or waste.
Medication orders can be approved by a distant pharmacist and immediately dispensed at the long-term care facility. The automated system means prescription changes or STAT orders are not delayed by delivery times. The facility also requires less medication inventory on-hand because inventory is determined by actual usage.
"Wellfount is a forward-thinking pharmacy that is responding to a widespread need in the long-term care industry, and that is to reduce waste, improve safety and save nursing time," explains Carla Corkern, CEO of Talyst. "We developed InSite to service this need, and early installations have shown a reduction in nursing medication prep time by up to 75 percent, and Medicare Part A waste was nearly eliminated."
Talyst's partnership with Wellfount represents the growing number of pharmacies and long-term care facilities that are realizing the benefits of the InSite Remote Dispensing System. As long-term care populations swell and nursing shortages worsen, implementing technology can ease the labor burden, improve patient safety and curb medication waste.
For further information, visit Talyst's booth number 1001 at ASCP, or www. talyst. com.
About Talyst:
Talyst is engineering the safer pharmacy. The company was founded in 2002 to provide automated medication management systems to acute care hospital pharmacies. The following year, Talyst launched AutoPharm®, the innovative software platform designed to integrate medication storage, inventory, ordering, barcoding, and clinical systems.
By 2009, Talyst had installed automated systems in close to 400 acute care hospitals and integrated healthcare companies. By leveraging our expertise in acute care pharmacy automation, we are now building unique systems designed specifically to meet the needs of long-term care facilities and correctional institutions. Talyst is dedicated to delivering world-class software and proven hardware components to enhance efficiency, provide greater inventory control, and improve patient safety in all environments. For more information, see www. talyst. com or call 877-4-Talyst (877-482-5978).
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