Jan 29, 2018
According to recent reports, inpatient drug spending is increasing 25 percent annually, and more than 90 percent of hospital leaders report that price hikes for inpatient drugs have had an effect on managing overall costs.1,2 Together these trends are pushing hospital leaders to implement tools to help optimize visibility into medication usage and allocation across their health system.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock, named one of the “100 Great Hospitals in America” by Becker’s Hospital Review, plans to use the Performance Center to be more strategic in its medication ordering and distribution decisions, ultimately supporting improved patient outcomes by getting patients the right medications at the right time.3 The Performance Center team of supply chain and pharmacy experts will help Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s pharmacy team manage shortage and expiration risk, reduce inventory spend, and leverage medication use analytics for cost-benefit evaluation of different medication regimens, leading to better financial outcomes.
“As with other hospitals across the country, the main goal of our pharmacy is to ensure that medications are available to the patients who need them when they need them most,” said Thomas J. Siepka, RPh, MS, FACHE, chief pharmacy officer, Dartmouth-Hitchcock. “The Performance Center helps us achieve this goal by showing us where our medications are being used so we can allocate them best throughout our health system. The expert services also help us navigate shortages and identify strategic buying opportunities, positioning both our patient care and financial performance for success.”
“The turbulence of medication availability in 2018 further reinforces the need for hospitals to have complete visibility into their medication inventory to provide the best care to their patients,” said J. Christopher Drew, president, North American Automation and Analytics for Omnicell. “We applaud Dartmouth-Hitchcock for taking this commitment to elevate their pharmacy operations, and are pleased to have our team of experts work closely with them as they realize new efficiencies within their medication management processes.”
About Dartmouth-Hitchcock
DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK (D-H) is a nonprofit academic health system serving communities in northern New England. D-H provides access to more than 1,000 primary care doctors and specialists in almost every area of medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, four affiliate hospitals, 24 ambulatory clinics and through the Visiting Nurse and Hospice for VT and NH. The D-H system trains nearly 400 residents and fellows annually, and performs world-class research, in partnership with the Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the White River Junction VA Medical Center.
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