Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions Simplifies Medication Safety, Inventory Management for Community Oncology Practices

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Oct 23, 2012, 08:30 ET

DUBLIN, Ohio, Oct. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions today launched VitalPath™ Integrated Dispensing Solution, a Web-based automated medication dispensing system that is designed to make it easier for community oncology practices to improve patient safety, inventory and revenue management.

Many specialty medications used to treat various forms of cancer must be administered through a needle or catheter, often in community oncology offices. Given that specialty oncology medications can cost thousands of dollars per dose – it's critical that oncology practices effectively manage their medication inventories and accurately bill for medications they administer to patients. It's also critical that community oncology practices have access to tools that help them ensure the right medication is administered to the right patient at the right dose, every time.

Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions' new VitalPath™ Integrated Dispensing Solution addresses these needs.

"It's clear that Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions listened to the needs of oncology practices like ours when they built VitalPath," said Irene Lustria, CFO, California Cancer Associates for Research and Excellence (cCARE) in San Diego, Calif. "VitalPath is a powerful, intuitive tool that has helped us to optimize our medication dispensing and improve the way we manage, replenish and bill for the medications we administer to patients."

VitalPath™ Integrated Dispensing Solution is designed to help community oncology practices:

Increase patient safety – Unlike traditional automated dispensing machines (ADMs) that print one drug per label, VitalPath prints up to five drugs on a single label, helping practices save time and reduce errors. It prints labels with Tall Man lettering, which helps staff to distinguish between look-alike and sound-alike drug names. VitalPath also empowers staff to dispense medications based upon patient-specific clinical orders that are physician approved, reducing the opportunity for errors that can be made when orders are placed manually.
Improve staff efficiency – VitalPath offers several features that reduce administrative burdens related to inventory management and medication dispensing. The VitalPath screen is easy to read and simple to use. It displays specific drug descriptions, active ingredients and clinical orders, including the route of administration. Clinical orders can be cloned, or replicated, from previous orders directly from the dispensing cabinet, eliminating the need to manually re-enter orders, which saves time and reduces the possibility of errors. Because the tool can electronically transfer patient clinical records from the practice's electronic health records, clinicians can also review real-time patient schedules and clinical orders. This reduces the chance for charting, dosing or reimbursement errors.
Enhance practice revenue and charge capture – VitalPath also automatically manages supplies and pharmaceuticals, tracks inventory and calculates waste – helping practices improve billing accuracy. It documents every action taken on the system, allowing practice managers to use its reporting functions to reconcile invoices and inventory. VitalPath can also automate the medication replenishment process and facilitate more efficient inventory planning by automatically determining which drugs are required for each patient, based on patient needs, schedule or PAR level.

"We're committed to delivering community oncology practices the tools they need to streamline and automate the time-consuming tasks that take them away from patients," said Meghan FitzGerald, president, Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions. "VitalPath delivers on that commitment by simplifying inventory management and making it easier for practices to improve patient safety while improving their bottom lines."

About Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions
Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions provides clinical, reimbursement, technology and distribution services that help health care professionals, payors and pharmaceutical and biotech companies improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of caring for patients who are managing complex diseases. Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions helps customers alleviate day-to-day administrative burdens, optimize business functions and partner to implement new innovations that move their businesses forward. To learn more, visit www.cardinalhealth.com/specialtysolutions.

About Cardinal Health
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a $108 billion health care services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of health care. As the business behind health care, Cardinal Health helps pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and physician offices focus on patient care while reducing costs, enhancing efficiency and improving quality. Cardinal Health is an essential link in the health care supply chain, providing pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 60,000 locations each day. The company is also a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products. In addition, the company supports the growing diagnostic industry by supplying medical products to clinical laboratories and operating the nation's largest network of radiopharmacies that dispense products to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Ranked #21 on the Fortune 500, Cardinal Health employs more than 30,000 people worldwide. More information about the company may be found at cardinalhealth.com and @CardinalHealth on Twitter.