Veterans Administration Hospital - Consolidated Mail Out Patient Pharmacy (CMOPS)

In 2002, the VA filled 105 million prescriptions overall using 90 day fills through automated pharmacies. The process is extremely efficient and has an accuracy rate of 99.997% and an error rate is 7 errors per one million.

Situation

Because of a nationwide shortage of pharmacists, rising drug costs, and the frequency of medical errors, automated pharmacy dispensing technology innovations have been developed and are being used to address these issues. These systems are capable of producing larger amounts of prescriptions with much greater accuracy rates.

Solution

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has created seven highly automated dispensing factories to fill mail-in prescriptions. The Consolidated Mail Out Patient Pharmacy System (CMOPS) differs from other mailorder pharmacies in that the prescription processing and clinical interaction with physicians, pharmacist, and the patient is left with the local medical center. The individual patient does not know if the prescription is mailed locally or is coming from a Consolidated Mail Out Patient Pharmacy.

The Consolidated Mail Out Patient Pharmacy System uses a comprehensive conveyor system that incorporates the use of bar codes for error checks throughout the system in combination with automated dispensing equipment. The Consolidated Mail Out Patient Pharmacy system tracks the prescription to the different points of filling and the automated equipment will count the medication, label the vial, cap the vial, and place the finished product into a tote circulating on a conveyer belt. Additional automation can select products in manufacturers containers such as tubes, boxes of Insulin, etc. There is a manual filling location that notifies the pharmacy technician the location of the products to select. Only when the correct product bar code is scanned will the system print a prescription label. At the end of the conveyor line, the pharmacist reviews the final product. A video image of the products dispensed is provided to the pharmacist for final visual identification. The product is checked and sent out via mail. Scaled down versions are also being used for many ambulatory care locations for dispensing prescription to patients waiting after clinic visits.

Better Health & Lower Costs

Prior to implementation of this automated process, one person in an efficient environment dispensed 20,000 prescriptions a year. The goal of the program was to increase the rate to 50,000 prescriptions per person per year. It is currently dispensing 75,000 prescriptions per person per year. In 2002, the Veterans Administration filled 105 million prescriptions overall using 90-day fills through automated pharmacies. The process is extremely efficient and has an accuracy rate of 99.997% and an error rate is seven errors per one million.

These automated procedures have resulted in a decreased workforce growth rate and an increased productivity meaning that more people are able to be treated more efficiently and more accurately.