CASE STUDY
www.noritsu-rx.com
INTRODUCTION
Headquartered in Kinston, North Carolina, Neil Medical Group is a trusted pharmacy
services partner for long-term/post-acute care and assisted living providers across the
southeast. Neil Medical, founded in 1984, distributes medical equipment and supplies,
drugs and surgical products, as well as providing pharmacy, therapy, and consulting
services.
As a long-term care pharmacy, Neil Medical functions as a distribution warehouse, while
also focusing on successful patient outcomes. In order to develop a strong customer
base, Neil Medical continuously strives to improve accuracy, efficiency, and productivity,
while also focusing on cost containment.
“As a high-volume pharmacy, we needed to evolve and move away from the outdated
punch card system we had been using for more than 30 years, not an easy change,”
explains Ross Brickley, vice president of pharmacy services at Neil Medical. “Our goal
was to improve pharmacy workflow, increase productivity, and provide exceptional
service to our customers; but we needed a partner.”
Ultimately, Neil Medical selected Noritsu as their partner. “Noritsu’s automated
pharmaceutical packaging technology not only allowed us to efficiently automate drug
packaging, but provided us with the ability to ensure accuracy. We were very impressed
with Noritsu’s machinery, as well as their demonstrably strong customer support.”
STRIP COMPLIANCE
PACKAGING A BENEFIT FOR
PHARMACY AND FACILITY
Ross Brickley
Vice President of
Pharmacy Services
~ Neil Medical Group
CASE STUDY
www.noritsu-rx.com
INTEGRATING AUTOMATION FROM SCRIPT TO
PATIENT ADMINISTRATION
Because pharmacy workflow impacts every element of a pharmacy, Noritsu began by
conducting a detailed workflow analysis. They examined how pharmacists and staff
spend their time, how quickly facilities get access to their medications, how much space
and staff are required to accomplish each task, the complexity of patient needs, and the
accuracy of medication dispensing and administration.
To maximize Neil Medical’s pharmacy workflow, the Noritsu team suggested site visits
and phone calls with existing Noritsu customers to review essential technology and
implementation options.
The first recommendation was a Xana 4001 strip pouch packager, which would provide
improvements in speed, accuracy, and safety while reducing errors in pharmacy
production. Brickley confirmed his team’s experiences, “strip pouch packaging has
ensured that patients have the correct dosage, making the administration of meds much
easier for staff, and improving medication compliance.”
The second recommendation was an MDM-3 medication detection machine. Verifying
medications can be very tedious, but it’s essential. Medication detection machines
save valuable time by helping to identify pill pouches that must receive extra scrutiny
ultimately ensuring confidence and accuracy in every dispense.
By automating the medication detection into a scan plus review with verification while
automatically adding the cutting and sorting into one system, Neil Medical was able to
improve accuracy at a cost savings versus 100% manual review by PharmD’s and extra
pharm tech labor.
In the end, Neil Medical has implemented the Noritsu solution across four pharmacies
to date, purchasing five Xana 4001 pouch packagers and four MDM-3 medication
detection systems.
POSITIVE OUTCOMES
The results have been quite impressive for Neil Medical. “We are now at an 80 %
conversion rate,” explains Brickley. “With four operating pharmacies, this has been a
remarkably fast conversion, especially considering the two-year process took place
during a global pandemic.”
In addition, Neil Medical has already seen a notable 20 to 25 % improvement in
medication dispensing accuracy. “The strip pouch packaging system has not only
improved our pharmacy efficiency and safety, but the ability to tie into our eMar
[electronic medication administration record] system creates less steps in the
administration process,” explains Brickley.
Brickley indicated that he worked closely with Noritsu to ensure eMar integration for
his facilities. “eMar integration was a key advantage of Noritsu’s NexusRx software,
CASE STUDY
www.noritsu-rx.com
which we found unique to the industry. Rather than scanning a separate barcode for
each medication, nursing/med aide staff can scan a single barcode on the pouch, which
our caregivers have found reduces the number of repetitive steps incurred during the
medication pass, ensuring that the right meds are given at the right time.”
When it comes to achieving their lofty goals, Neil Medical is extremely satisfied with the
outcome. “There is no question that Noritsu exceeded our expectations,” says Brickley.
“Their collaboration, implementation, and support were top-notch.”
NORITSU’S STRIP PACKAGING AUTOMATION
Improves productivity, accuracy, and increases a pharmacy’s bottom line.
n PRODUCTIVITY
• Easier to receive and verify medications from the pharmacy.
• Improved ergonomics due to medical staff being able to tear open one pouch,
instead of popping multiple blisters and opening vials.
• Easier to identify the correct meds for the correct patient.
• Less repetitive steps with eMar integration and a one-barcode scan.
• Enhanced caregiver time with each patient.
n ACCURACY
• Automated detection with MDC station is more accurate than manual verification.
• Boxes can be labeled with easily readable content labels containing
medication data.
• Pouches include easy-to-read information and patient images.
• Single eMar barcode verifies meds, so it is easier to ensure patients have received
all medications in each med pass.
n FLEXIBILITY AT ADMINISTRATION
• Easily variable cycle times and exceptions.
• Perfect pouch options allow for pouch customization.
• Decreased waste due to ease-of-cycle time variability.
• Ease-of-med time exceptions.