SOMC Pharmacy Recognized as First Retail Pharmacy in Ohio to Utilize Automated Checking System

The goal of the SOMC Pharmacy staff is to serve their patients’ medication needs effectively and safely. To do this, they have had a medication pack process since the opening of the SOMC Outpatient Pharmacies. This was a manual process that required pharmacy staff to refill, recount and have a pharmacist check each pack; a tedious process, to say the least.

“We always wanted this to be an option for our patients,” said Jessica Dixon, SOMC Registered Pharmacist Supervisor. “We were getting so many requests that we wanted to make that process more efficient.” This led them to purchase the Parata Packaging Machine and the Perl. The Parata dispensing robot releases the medication into pouches after a tech keys in all the medication. Then, the machine does the rest. This led to the creation of the new, updated MedPaks. These updated packages are customized for each patient’s medication needs.

The Perl will go back through and inspect each pouch to ensure they are correct. The team can then see if the machine flagged any errors.
To be able to utilize this method, the State Board of Pharmacy requires a site visit as well as a thorough review process. They were impressed with the process when they visited the SOMC Wheelersburg Pharmacy, where the machines are housed.

Still, the team had to complete the 45-day review, which included a pharmacist checking each pack that the Perl reviewed, which the team did for longer than this review process to ensure accuracy. This time period proved that the Perl catches 100% of errors.
“Having a true error with the machine is very rare,” Dixon said.

The State Board of Pharmacy approved the review at the beginning of February. SOMC was recognized as the first retail pharmacy in Ohio to receive approval for the automated checking system.

“Utilizing this system and being approved by the State Board means we are really leading the way, especially in the State of Ohio, with trying to improve patient outcomes by improving adherence rates to their medications.”

MedPaks are free and available to all patients who would like their medications customized. Patients can request one and be available at the SOMC Wheelersburg Pharmacy for pick-up, delivery, or delivery to the SOMC Pharmacy that a patient chooses.