Hospitals continually look for ways to reduce costs and improve efficiency, and unit-dose drug repackaging and barcoding remain an option to achieve that. While some hospital pharmacies have the resources to manage drug repackaging in-house, for others, the time, space, and labor requirements remain a constant challenge. As a result, many hospital pharmacies are opting to outsource their unit-dose repackaging, allowing them to free up staff time, space and significantly reduce costs. So which option is best for your pharmacy – investing in packaging equipment and packaging in-house or outsourcing to a third-party unit-dose repackager?
To help your pharmacy decide, let's review a few things:
High-volume unit-dose packaging machines are the most expensive but most efficient types. Some can package as many as 60 units per minute. Others can repackage multiple oral medications and produce multiple package sizes. In addition, barcoding labels are an important consideration, with two-dimensional barcoding offering greater accuracy. In one case study in Pharmacy Purchasing & Products Magazine, a large hospital system with more than 2,200 beds repackages about 25% of oral and liquid solids internally. The pharmacy uses three machines and a full-time employee dedicated to repackaging. When demand is higher, other members of the pharmacy staff may need to step in and assist with the workload. In addition, employee training and attention to detail is critical, as hi-speed packagers typically use a common chute in the packaging process, can be difficult to clean, and could lead to cross-contamination.
Liquid unit-dose packaging machines can pack as much as 30% faster than manual syringes. A fully automated liquid cup system may fill as many as 30 cups per minute, while a smaller, semi-automatic machine can produce up to 450 cups per hour. These units vary in cost and size, are safer and more efficient than manual processes, but also require upfront capital investment, dedicated space within your pharmacy, and high monthly maintenance fees. And packaging liquids can be messy.
Tabletop unit-dose machines are more efficient than manual unit-dose packaging and can save hospital pharmacies as much as four to five cents per package. According to the article "Small Hospital Benefits: Leveraging Automation to Maximize Efficiency," published in Boss Magazine, "Since a tabletop unit dose packaging machine can package at speeds of 60-120 packages per minute, by using this automated machinery, facilities can see a significant decrease by eliminating the manual packaging process." When using this type of machine, however, it’s imperative that your pharmacy have documented cleaning processes to minimize any risks of cross-contamination from one lot to the next.
Manual unit-dose repackaging is the most labor-intensive process. If a hospital pharmacy uses this method, a standardized packaging and barcoding process is critical. Safety, efficiency, time, and labor management all remain crucial aspects to control to ensure dosages are packaged and labeled correctly.
Beyond the equipment purchase or lease, there are other things to consider before your pharmacy decides to purchase packaging equipment and repackage in-house, including:
Whether you are a hospital pharmacist, pharmacy director, or pharmacy buyer, you must weigh the cost and labor benefits of maintaining an in-house system, outsourcing to a third-party repackager, or maintaining a balance of both.
Safecor Health makes it easy to figure out costs with a free ROI cost calculator tool.
If the cost of maintaining repackaging in-house remains a challenge, there is another option to consider. When you factor in capital equipment expenditures, packaging materials, space requirements, regulatory expertise, and labor, outsourcing to a third party is a cost-effective solution. Many hospital pharmacies don't even realize this could be a viable option. Outsourcing benefits include:
Outsourcing with a third-party repackaging vendor can allow your pharmacy to remove the challenging and time-consuming tasks of packaging and redirect your focus back on patient care.
Sources:
https://www.pppmag.com/documents/V2N2/HV_Packers.pdf
https://www.pppmag.com/article/1808
https://www.euclidmedicalproducts.com/product_markets/hospital/
https://thebossmagazine.com/small-hospital-automation/
https://www.pppmag.com/article/2358/
https://www.datexcorp.com/all-you-need-to-know-about-pharmaceutical-repackagers/