How do you convince hospitals and managers that they should invest in automated supply cabinets rather than an open point-of-use system?

PEREZ: We don’t. Omnicell employs a consultative, customer-focused approach that presents and uses area-specific, hospital-supplied usage, inventory, charge and productivity data to develop an ROI for each area under different solution scenarios. With that data, the customer can then decide what would work best for them given their budget and organizational culture.

SOBIE: We also connect potential customers to hospitals with similar demographics that have installed our products and experienced the results of Pyxis supply automation products from Cardinal Health. This peer-to-peer communication allows them to share information relative to their experiences and the actual results they have experienced through the process. In certain instances we also provide a short-term, no-charge installation in a limited number of areas to allow them to do their own analysis. Because we offer both open and secured point-of-use products, we have worked with facilities to install both products in similar areas to measure the results.

How do you convince the hospitals and managers that they should invest in an open point-of-use system rather than automated supply cabinet?

DATTILO: In most cases we don’t have to. Most materials managers have already realized that the open point-of-use system is the appropriate choice. We have made considerable progress since 1993 in clearing up some misconceptions (closed versus open). Our sales and marketing staff, our clients and most industry consultants are spreading the benefits of open system. Over the last few years, the two primary suppliers of automated supply cabinets have felt the need to introduce open systems. All of the benefits associated with automated supply cabinets – financial and non-financial – are also achieved with an open system. While the benefits remain identical, the cost of an open system is significantly less than a closed system; therefore the ROI is significantly higher.

We offer solutions for organizations of every size. We also offer solutions with various levels of sophistication. Some solutions may provide less automation than more sophisticated solutions. If a facility cannot afford the ultimate solution, they might need to forego certain benefits and subsequently achieve a lower ROI. We have provided upgrade paths to allow hospitals to start slowly and grow into the more sophisticated products.

FELGER: Materials managers have come to the conclusion on their own that there is very little difference between the locked cabinet solutions and the open, data collection solutions. They recognize that supply cabinets are not completely restrictive and that normal supply areas with open systems do not allow access to everyone that visits the hospital! In reality, both solutions are semi-restrictive. (Once you are in the closed cabinet you have access to everything, and most existing supply areas are already behind closed or even locked doors.) Each restricts and gives access to the same individuals. Materials managers today are able to look past the salesmanship. What they quickly see is the ease and flexibility of the open system. They grasp how this simplicity and ease of use will actually drive better compliance.

When everything is truly on a level playing field, the ultimate decision will come down to dollars. Throw out the justifications that include ‘you should save…’ or ‘our experience has shown….’ Administrators today must look for real dollar savings and justifications. Knowing that both solutions provide the same benefits, it becomes an easy decision when the pricing of the two solutions is placed side by side.

We recommend that hospitals evaluating point-of-use systems talk to or visit our present clients. All of our clients faced the same dilemma before they chose PAR Excellence; some have even switched from the locked cabinets. If the hospital is still not convinced, we encourage them to evaluate our system and the closed system — head to head — in the hospital, on a live unit.

What makes automated supply cabinets more efficient and cost-effective than buying open technology affixed to traditional shelving?

PEREZ: The measure of a system’s effectiveness is compliance. If one can get full compliance to scanning or open-button touches without that compliance costing more than it saves, that’s great. Neatness and other aesthetic values of our cabinet systems aside, the almost passive nature of compliance with cabinet-based systems makes the data better and the solution more complete. We recognize that in some areas and for some bulky products cabinets may not be appropriate or optimal. Thus, we have made out-of-cabinet recognition of item usage an integral part of the Omnicell database. When a customer observes that a product has sufficient usage, cost and/or shrinkage to merit more robust, tighter inventory management, the facility can add the item to an existing cabinet or add a cabinet to an existing open area.

SOBIE: The results demonstrate that automated supply cabinets with Touch-to-Take technology are more efficient because they offer convenient access to authorized personnel and act to protect the products patients need at a moment’s notice. Clinical staff quickly realize that automated supply cabinets are a tool that they can rely on for reliable access to the products that they need when they need them. And because automated supply cabinets return to a secured state immediately following access, track expiration dates and promote stock rotation, shrinkage falls dramatically. Secured systems bring accountability to the process by tracking user access and creating a means to measure compliance. They create new efficiencies and enable greater budgetary and inventory control for unit managers. In the end, everyone wins with automated supply cabinets.

What makes open technology affixed to traditional shelving more efficient and cost effective than using automated supply cabinets?

FELGER: It is not as simple as putting barcodes or iButtons on traditional shelving. There are other variables that influence the overall success of any point-of-use system.

When implementing automation into the PAR level areas, we first analyze the hospital’s present process. (We do not just affix a technology to the existing situation.) We may make recommendations that involve the organization of the product in the supply area, the consolidation of supply areas, the number and types of products being stored in the areas. The storage methodology — traditional shelving, existing shelving, bins or locked cabinets, etc. — will play a significant role in the organization, the look of the supply areas, the overall cost of the system and the effective, logical use of the system. The open storage method, in conjunction with the right data collection technology, has been shown to positively influence the efficiency and usage of the system.

Because bins and shelving are less expensive when purchased as a separate item and are normally a one-time purchase (they become a fixture of the building), the point-of-use system that utilizes an open architecture is, from the start, much more cost effective. The point-of-use system incorporated in a closed cabinet is typically rented. Renting both the storage and the system increases the overall costs dramatically.