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InSite® System Support of Infection Control Efforts in Long-Term Care


Long-term care facilities are responsible for caring for the numerous patients who have been infected with COVID-19 and are taking measures to fight this pandemic. Facility residents are connected to communities at large through interactions with staff members, visitors and when they are admitted or leave a facility. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines indicate that facilities providing healthcare should implement programs for infection control through efforts such as minimizing exposure, adhering to precautions and limiting access and movement. The InSite In-Facility Medication Packaging and Dispensing System supports healthcare personnel in their infection control efforts through improved medication management workflows. 


Reduced Deliveries

The InSite system supports the pharmacy with a reduction of medication deliveries to facilities, which streamlines pharmacy operations and increases medication availability.  


— Oral solids can be stored in the InSite system and used for regular medication passes as well as for on-demand purposes to facilitate new residents, First Doses, STAT orders and PRNs.  This reduces the number of deliveries back and forth between a pharmacy and a facility. 

— By reducing deliveries, the InSite system contributes to a reduction in the number of delivery personnel entering a facility, minimizing exposure for residents and staff.


Minimizing Human Touches, Human Interactions

The InSite system supports the facility with a reduction of human touches on medication packaging, which assists infection control efforts through minimizing exposure.


InSite minimizes human touch:

— Once a pharmacy fills a sealed InSite medication canister there is no human touch/ interaction of medications until the time of administration when a nurse opens the InSite medication packet. Depending on the situation, the nurse does not need to touch either the medication or the patient when passing the medication. 

— InSite medication packets are typically touched by a staff member at the facility who dispenses a med pass and then the administering nurse. The medication packet is then disposed of after administration.

— The InSite system tracks which pharmacy personnel fills each canister and who dispensed the medication from the InSite packager. The InSite packets can provide a barcode that can be scanned by a facility’s electronic medication administration records  (eMAR) system at time of administration. The tracking and reporting provide traceability of potential infection spread.


Blister/Bingo card human interactions:

— Blister/bingo cards can be manually filled by a pharmacy tech who places each of the medications into individual bubbles in the card.   

— Each blister card is typically touched by a pharmacy tech, pharmacist, courier,  personnel unpacking cards at the facility and then each nurse for every medication pass shift. Some facilities have 30 days of medication in one card which increases the number of touches on one card by multiple nurses. Not all of these human touches are electronically tracked, which can lead to a lack of data for traceability of potential infection spread.

— There may be contact with the medication when a nurse removes the medication from the blister card and administers it to the patient.   

— Between shifts, both nurses count the controlled substance medication cards in the cart and verify the count is correct, causing additional touches to these cards.   

— There are also more cart touches due to pulling out and returning medication cards. 


Staffing and Efficiency

Viral infection outbreaks can bring to light staffing concerns and availability. 

— When staff is infected, this puts more pressure on an inefficient medication management process. 

— When contrasting in-facility medication packaging to the traditional blister card model, InSite significantly reduces the number of steps and minimizes the opportunity for human error in medication management. This frees up nursing time, providing more time to care for more sick patients. Nurses are spending more time treating patients instead of time spent on medication pass preparation. 


Inventory Control

The InSite system helps pharmacies with inventory control by providing medication usage visibility. The pharmacy utilizes the Inventory Report to accurately track and manage canister inventory levels at each facility through real-time utilization and inventory data. This helps manage drug shortages that can occur due to viral infection outbreaks.


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