CASE STUDY
noritsu-rx.com
which is much more straightforward with Noritsu’s software. “Then we put facilities on a
30-day countdown to ensure all medications are billable on the same day. When the 30
days are up, we’re ready to go. There’s no extra transition.” He also says that the process
is so easy, he could start filling strip package prescriptions for a brand-new facility
almost immediately.
UnitedRx has found that the Noritsu machines and software are very intuitive. “I can train
a new employee on running the machines and filling trays in less than a day and have
techs working independently within the first three or four days,” says Medrano. That’s
partly because the company set up all six of its machines in the same way, as Noritsu had
recommended for enhanced efficiency and consistency. “All the medications are in the
same canisters across all six machines, so the learning curve is pretty short.” Even simple
tasks, like changing the roll of paper in a machine, are easier, he explains. “So even though
the technology is similar, it’s these kinds of things where I can see we are saving time.”
The automated visual verification is also another time saver, says Benain. The system
takes a picture of every package and compares the image to the pharmacy’s custom
medication library. The result is a highly detailed view of each medication package.
“If there’s a broken tablet or it’s not the right shape or color of the medication that’s
supposed to be in the package — the system tells us to check the pouch.” Pharmacists
can review images and confirm or replace medications as needed. The system is
typically flagging less than 3% of the pouches, leaving 97% with no need for additional
review. Images are also stored in the system, allowing pharmacists to review any pouch
if nurses have questions.
“For me, what’s made my job easier is Noritsu’s openness to giving us access to data,”
says Medrano. Where data is concerned, the biggest difference from the legacy system
is that all machines now run on the same server. “That means I can pull reports that
reflect data across all six of our machines.” Any new machines they add will also be run
from the same single server.
A SHARED COMMITMENT TO CUSTOMER CARE
Over a typical week, UnitedRx is now running about 280 batches of different cycles.
This is more than double the volume we were running on our legacy systems. Even
with this volume, Medrano says they only see Noritsu about once a month for regularly
scheduled preventative maintenance. “If we were running the same volume through our
legacy machines, I’d estimate we’d have a service call about every four days.” When they
did have an issue with one of Noritsu’s machines during implementation, Benain says the
company’s service was exemplary. “They tried to fix it a couple of times, but understood
what we’d been through before — so just decided to replace it.” Medrano agrees, saying
the company is very responsive to their needs. “If a pharmacy is having an issue, they’ll
send out a technician to identify the problem and they’ve resolved our issues quickly.
The bottom line, Benain says, is that Noritsu understands UnitedRx’s business and
understands their customers. “They are empathetic to our cause, and just made the whole
process so easy for us. They listened to what we needed and gave us valuable input on how
to make our processes more efficient. Noritsu was really there for us — and I don’t believe I
would buy from another provider at this point.”
“
“
For me, what’s
made my job
easier is Noritsu’s
openness to giving
us access to data.”
Noritsu was
really there
for us — and
I don’t believe
I would buy
from another
provider at
this point.”
Jeffrey Medrano
Director of Operations
~ UnitedRx LLC
Chuck Benain, RPh
CEO
~ UnitedRx LLC
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