The key to pharmacy systems is how well they tie into the greater whole of the closed loop medication management process, said Jason Hess, director of research, clinical ancillary, KLAS Enterprises. “You want to remove any human opportunity for error,” he said. The ability for pharmacy systems to be able to talk to ordering systems, whether it is via interface or integration, is important in terms of avoiding the re-entering of information. While Hess said hospitals understand the importance of these systems and recent stories of deaths attributed to medication error have put even the public at alert, the fact remains that the technology and implementation are still expensive. As systems become more integrated, hospitals will implement other components of the medication management process. The last piece of the puzzle, said Hess, will be connectivity of the bedside bar coding of medication and patient bracelet to the pharmacy system. The ranked list is from KLAS Top 20 2006 Year End Final Report.

GE Healthcare

Centricity Pharmacy

KLAS No. 1

Features: Centricity Pharmacy offers the highest order of functionality including a wide range of productivity features for multi-site pharmacy across the entire health enterprise. Centricity Pharmacy is a single integrated system that features the ability to support comprehensive inpatient, outpatient/ambulatory and infusion services and workflows for very high volume environments and features an integrated lifetime medication and patient record. It features advanced clinical screening mechanisms, unique oncology and pediatric functionality, as well as multi-site, multi-level inventory control/purchasing management functionality in an elegant technical environment.
Does your system integrate or interface with the ordering system or other automated component of a closed loop medication management process? Centricity Pharmacy is a comprehensive solution that routinely interoperates with other components in support of closed loop medication management processes. The system has been successfully interfaced to a wide variety of commercial applications from most popular HIS vendors, including admitting/discharge/transfer and registration, physician order entry and EMR, nurse management, laboratory results, billing and financial, controlled access cabinetry, robotic dispensing systems, popular software, as well as interactive voice response (IVR) systems.
How long on average is your implementation process? The average length of time for a typical Centricity Pharmacy implementation is between six and nine months. Major activities include initial system deployment, database training, application training, system administration training and go-live training/go-live support. The implementation is fully managed by dedicated and experienced pharmacy professionals and other specialists. The reputation for outstanding implementation support by the Centricity Pharmacy team has helped GE win #1 KLAS position for pharmacy systems for the last four consecutive years.
Do you have experience working with third-party product and/or interface services vendors? GE Healthcare has a very significant experience base in working with third-party product and interface service vendors.

McKesson Corp.

Horizon Meds Manager

KLAS Rank 2

Features: Horizon Meds Manager is a proven pharmacy information management solution that helps healthcare providers improve hospital pharmacy workflow and advance patient safety efforts. It integrates with computerized provider order entry (CPOE) applications so that the pharmacy can electronically receive, verify and send medication orders. Its advanced tools, including laboratory and alerts integration, robust clinical documentation and a user-defined rules engine, allow pharmacists to reduce costs, maximize productivity and play a more active role in patient care.
Does your system integrate or interface with the ordering system or other automated component of a closed loop medication management process? McKesson Corporation has a pioneering history of developing closed-loop technology for preventing medication errors. It is the industry leader and only single-source provider of integrated software, automation, packaging, distribution and consulting solutions that help organizations prevent medication errors and improve efficiency from the loading dock to the pharmacy to the bedside. Horizon Meds Manager shares a common drug knowledge base, formulary and allergy information with Horizon Expert Orders, McKesson’s CPOE System. Two-way integration with Horizon Expert Orders, AcuDose-Rx dispensing cabinets and Horizon Admin-Rx BPOC system enables the pharmacy to electronically receive, verify and send medication orders, eliminating manual transcription on both ends.
How long on average is your implementation process? Average implementation timeframe for Horizon Meds Manager is eight months. In addition to typical services McKesson offers consultative services. Our pharmacy consulting services offer operational, clinical and supply-related solutions including customized assessments and process improvement assistance designed to assist your hospital pharmacy in reducing costs and improving the quality of patient care.
Do you have experience working with third-party product and/or interface services vendors? McKesson has extensive experience using standards-based protocols such as HL7 to interface with third-party products. Horizon Meds Manager supports bi-directional interfaces to medication safety products including medication dispensing cabinets, CPOE’s systems, BPOC systems and patient accounting systems.

Cerner Corp.

Cerner Millennium PharmNet

KLAS Rank 3

Features: Using PharmNet, pharmacists can automate their pharmacy and care processes, ensuring that patients get the right medication at the right time for the best clinical outcome. PharmNet is built on the unified Cerner Millennium architecture, which organizes data around the person rather than the encounter. This eliminates duplication and increases patient safety by placing data only once in a central repository. This access makes pharmacies more efficient, saving pharmacists time and money and allowing them to become more closely linked with the care team.
Does your system integrate or interface with the ordering system or other automated component of a closed loop medication management process? Yes. PharmNet is part of the strongest closed-loop medication process in the industry. With Cerner, the information on the patient, order and associated tasks resides on the same information architecture, called Cerner Millennium. With PharmNet, the pharmacist performs medication order review and verification from the same order as the physician.
How long on average is your implementation process? MethodM is Cerner’s approach to working with clients to deliver value through our Cerner Millennium solutions. This modular methodology draws upon proven practices from a host of past client experiences. With it, a team is able to deliver the intended outcomes of a project with discipline, predictability and efficiency. Average timeline of implementation depends upon the number of solutions being implemented.
Do you have experience working with third-party product and/or interface services vendors? Although Cerner clients gain significant benefits from integrating their entire medication process on the Cerner Millennium platform, many Cerner clients interface the PharmNet pharmacy information system with third-party products successfully on a regular basis, including unit-based dispensing cabinets and central pharmacy automation devices.

Siemens Medical Solutions

Siemens Pharmacy

KLAS Rank 4

Does your system integrate or interface with the ordering system or other automated component of a closed loop medication management process? Siemens Pharmacy helps optimize patient safety as an integral component to a closed loop medication-use process that consists of Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE), Siemens Pharmacy and Med Administration Check. Providing an integrated view of data and incorporating comprehensive clinical decision support functions for all clinical users, Siemens Medication Management solution provides a streamlined, interdisciplinary workflow for clinicians. Siemens has 15 live sites and more implementing.
How long on average is your implementation process? A Siemens Pharmacy system installation typically takes six months depending on the number of hospital resources that can be assigned to the installation process and the amount of time that the hospital resources are able to commit to the project. The length of the implementation is also dependent on the size and complexity of the organization. Siemens supports the hospital’s project team, providing detailed application training, application consulting, technical assistance and guidance throughout the implementation.
Do you have experience working with third-party product and/or interface services vendors? Siemens Pharmacy supports industry standards such as HL7 and has interfaced with third-party products for laboratory, demographic, orders and charge information. Siemens is nonexclusive and also provides interfaces to any pharmacy-based automated dispensing system.

Mediware Information Systems

WORx

KLAS Rank 5

Features: Mediware’s suite provides full closed loop medication management, supporting pharmacy, clinician order entry, barcode driven bedside administration and automated medication reconciliation in hospitals, treatment centers, long-term care providers, specialty clinics and correctional institutions. The suite includes WORx Inpatient (WORx IP), WORx Ambulatory Care (WORx AC), WORx Online Adjudication, WORx purchasing and receiving (WORx PO) and WORx Universal. Mediware’s integrated environment provides a proven workflow that increases patient safety through enhanced operational and clinical capabilities in all phases of care.
Does your system integrate or interface with the ordering system or other automated component of a closed loop medication management process? Mediware’s medication management suite, based on the WORx pharmacy system, is fully integrated, offering both electronic clinician ordering and barcode driven bedside administration. MediCOE enables electronic orders and order management. Off-the-shelf and custom interfaces are available for facilities using other electronic order engines.
How long on average is your implementation process? Implementations vary depending on the complexity of the client’s environment. More complex implementations, including customized workflow and system interfaces, will vary depending on each situation. On average, implementations can range from five to nine months.
Do you have experience working with third-party product and/or interface services vendors? As a best-of-suite provider of clinical technology, Mediware has proven success working with other vendors and third-party products.