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Northwest Hospital in Randallstown has maximized patient safety and streamlined medication dispensing by being one of the first hospitals in Maryland to install a state-of-the-art medication storage and retrieval system in the hospital's pharmacy.

MedCarousel® is an automated storage and retrieval system that Northwest Hospital is now using to dispense medications to more than 180 patients each day.  With its vertical rotating shelves, pick-to-light technologies, bar code scanning, and comprehensive workflow software, MedCarousel® dispenses medicines with accuracy, resulting in increased efficiencies and improved medication safety.  MedCarousel® automates the process of medicine restock, first doses, and scheduled medications.  It uses advanced software to consolidate and manage pharmacy inventory.

"We are delighted to be one of the first hospitals in the state of Maryland to implement this leading-edge technology,” said Erik G. Wexler, president and COO of Northwest Hospital.  "Medication safety has always been a priority at Northwest Hospital.  Now, with automated dispensing and bar code scanning, we are able to provide medications to our patients more safely and efficiently.”

Through pick-to-light and bar code scanning technologies, MedCarousel® reduces picking and restocking errors by 96 percent.  MedCarousel's shelves rotate to the proper position, as horizontal and depth lights indicate the storage position of the needed medication.  The medication for the patient is then selected from MedCarousel through a bar code label.  At the technician's workstation a label is automatically printed that identified the medication, the date it is picked and important information about the patient.  The pharmacy technician then affixes the label to the bag, bin or tray.  This information is then rescanned for verification that it is the correct medication for the patient.
 

"The advanced technology of MedCarousel® provides flexibility for us in arranging look-alike, sound-alike drugs by frequency of use, not alphabetically by name, which can sometime lead to dispensing errors,” said Ken Mercer, pharmacy director at Northwest Hospital.

Northwest Hospital is a member of LifeBridge Health, a regional health organization, which includes Sinai Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Jewish Convalescent & Nursing Home, and related subsidiaries and affiliates.

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