Fairchild Air Force Base pharmacy taps 'Innovation' for automation
Fairchild Air Force Base pharmacy in Washington State has implemented Innovation’s PharmASSIST Light-Way storage and retrieval system with initial use as a will call management system for prescription storage and patient pickup, the maker of pharmacy automation solutions announced on Monday.
“We’re extremely pleased with how quickly and smoothly this initial installation and end-user training of PharmASSIST Light-Way went at Fairchild AFB. Feedback has been very positive with the staff touting Light-Way’s user friendliness as key to their early productivity,” stated Chris Cole, program manager, federal healthcare at Innovation. ”As with any new product we introduce, we’re actively soliciting user feedback from their team with a goal of continually improving the product in the various modalities it supports.”
The PharmASSIST Light-Way pick-to-light technology is designed to offer a simple means of placing and picking prescriptions into the system’s storage locations (i.e., cubbies/slots). All picking and placing is controlled via barcode scanning and guided with pick-to-light queuing. This reduces the opportunity for human error. All storage locations are size configurable and light up when users place prescriptions into the locations or when a patient presents at the pick-up window. To drive greater efficiencies, the system is integrated with the pharmacy’s PharmASSIST Symphony workflow management platform, which is used throughout U.S. Air Force Pharmacy.
According to Innovation, it foresees expanded use of PharmASSIST Light-Way as a productivity tool at other steps in the prescription fulfillment process. For example, the system has the capability to be used to collate prescriptions between filling and verification, and also for inventory management for picking fast moving inventory at manual filling stations to speed up the manual filling process.
“We’re extremely pleased with how quickly and smoothly this initial installation and end-user training of PharmASSIST Light-Way went at Fairchild AFB. Feedback has been very positive with the staff touting Light-Way’s user friendliness as key to their early productivity,” stated Chris Cole, program manager, federal healthcare at Innovation. ”As with any new product we introduce, we’re actively soliciting user feedback from their team with a goal of continually improving the product in the various modalities it supports.”
The PharmASSIST Light-Way pick-to-light technology is designed to offer a simple means of placing and picking prescriptions into the system’s storage locations (i.e., cubbies/slots). All picking and placing is controlled via barcode scanning and guided with pick-to-light queuing. This reduces the opportunity for human error. All storage locations are size configurable and light up when users place prescriptions into the locations or when a patient presents at the pick-up window. To drive greater efficiencies, the system is integrated with the pharmacy’s PharmASSIST Symphony workflow management platform, which is used throughout U.S. Air Force Pharmacy.
According to Innovation, it foresees expanded use of PharmASSIST Light-Way as a productivity tool at other steps in the prescription fulfillment process. For example, the system has the capability to be used to collate prescriptions between filling and verification, and also for inventory management for picking fast moving inventory at manual filling stations to speed up the manual filling process.