From Faxes to Fast Service
Agapé Senior streamlines pharmacy management, boosts efficiency, speeds service for residents
BACKGROUND
South Carolina-based Agapé Senior is an integrated health care group with their own physicians and pharmacy. In order to take clinical quality to new heights, Agapé implemented American HealthTech’s (AHT) electronic health record system including medication and treatment administration.
CHALLENGE
Like many nursing homes, pharmacy communications involving transcription, phone calls, and faxing orders were getting in the way of great service. “Faxes would get lost and the nurses wouldn’t know that orders weren’t received,” explained Pamela Duncan, Chief Compliance Officer. “Nurses did a lot of writing and pushing paper back and forth,”she added. Agapé physicians were connected electronically to the pharmacy, but the connection was still paper-based between the pharmacy and nursing centers. “End-of-month review was the worst. We would spend approximately 24 nursing hours reviewing every chart and every med (7 to 9 meds per resident) in each nursing center.
SOLUTION
As a result, interoperability between the pharmacy’s Frameworks system and AHT took center stage to boost efficiency and better serve residents. The results were immediate. “We slayed the fax eating gremlins,” joked Duncan, “when the pharmacy receives the order, nurses see it in the electronic charts instantly.” In addition, the team took month-end reviews from about 24 hours to under five minutes. “Now, we just click a button and we’re done,” Jones offered, adding
“nursing directors and supervisors can monitor med passes from anywhere. It is real-time and keeps us in compliance.”
Because the pharmacy and the nursing centers operate under the same entity, they share the same goals. “Thanks to AHT, we’re a seamless partner with our pharmacy. The biggest communication barriers are gone,” Duncan rejoiced.
www.agapesenior.com
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