Omnicell and SoftWriters Unveil Continuous Dosing Interface to Deliver Improved Safety and Regulatory Compliance

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnicell, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMCL), and SoftWriters, Inc., provider of the leading pharmacy management software FrameworkLTC®, today announced a Continuous Dosing Interface solution that delivers a sophisticated level of critical checks and balances to medication administration in long-term and other post-acute care environments.

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Pharmacists serving long-term and post-acute care settings need to have oversight of the number of medication doses administered to patients for the duration of the medication order. The Continuous Dosing Interface (CDI) by Omnicell is capable of exchanging real-time medication dosing information between pharmacies and front-line clinicians, decreasing the risk of a medication error and regulatory non-compliance. For example, when a medication is removed from either the pharmacy or Omnicell's OmniRx^® G4 Automated Medication Dispensing Cabinets (ADCs) against an active medication order, the information is consolidated and reconciled in FrameworkLTC. When the number of doses dispensed equals the number of doses written, the order is discontinued in real-time, ensuring regulatory compliance and clinical quality.

"The interface created between SoftWriters and Omnicell has resulted in more efficiency for our pharmacy, and at the same time has created a safer medication distribution model," said Bob Rowland, COO at Grane Rx. "Ultimately it translates into improved resident safety at a lower distribution cost."

"Long-term care facilities are under great pressure to reduce medication errors and improve operations," said Heather Martin, vice president of sales and marketing at SoftWriters. "Our partnership with Omnicell will yield significant returns for our customers by ensuring they remain compliant with rigorous regulations and practice the highest level of patient safety. We are pleased that our joint efforts have also resulted in standardized interfaces that make the integration of our systems very straightforward."

"This is one of those 'hand-in-glove' technology partnerships," said Troy Hilsenroth, vice president, Vendor Solutions at Omnicell. "Both Omnicell and SoftWriters help long-term care facilities and pharmacies address continually changing regulatory standards with dynamic solutions. SoftWriters' open architecture makes it easy to accomplish, so difficult integrations are a thing of the past. Omnicell and its subsidiary MTS Medication Technologies look forward to working with SoftWriters to co-develop additional solutions that offer its customers technologies that address patient safety, clinician satisfaction, and workflow efficiencies."

In addition to the Continuing Dosing Interface, Omnicell recently developed two other solutions that will greatly benefit post-acute care customers:

NDC-Specific Billing Accuracy – Driven by healthcare reform legislation, the use of the national drug code (NDC) for billing purposes has become a stringent regulatory requirement. Omnicell is helping long-term care facilities and pharmacies reduce the burden of identifying the correct NDC codes for medications removed from the automated medication cabinet. When a clinician removes a medication, Omnicell's SafetyStock® bar code confirmation software scans the medication's bar code, including the specific NDC associated with that medication. This information is then sent back to FrameworkLTC or other pharmacy information system, ensuring NDC-specific billing and complying with regulatory requirements.

Omnicell Cloud Connect for Reliable and Secure Communications – Omnicell Cloud Connect is a convenient new way to network Omnicell systems across sites. With other vendors, automated dispensing cabinets residing outside the wide area network require a modem connection, which is slow, or a complex and expensive virtual private network (VPN). With Omnicell Cloud Connect, Omnicell systems located outside of the wide area network communicate through a reliable, high-speed, and secure network connection. Omnicell Cloud Connect virtually eliminates time spent setting up complex communication infrastructures.

About SoftWriters, Inc.

Since 1990, SoftWriters, Inc., a Microsoft Certified Technology partner, has delivered flexible, customized software solutions and services for long term care and institutional pharmacies. FrameworkLTC enables pharmacies to reduce costs, streamline processes, improve accuracy and enhance communication in every phase of prescription management. Additional information can be found at www.softwriters.com.

About Omnicell

For more than 20 years the mission of Omnicell (NASDAQ: OMCL) has been creating new efficiencies to improve patient care, anywhere it is delivered. Omnicell is a leading supplier of comprehensive automation and business analytics software solutions for patient-centric medication and supply management across the entire healthcare continuum, from the acute care hospital setting to post-acute skilled nursing and long-term care facilities to the home.

Since 1992, more than 2,700 Acute Care customers worldwide have utilized Omnicell's medication automation, supply chain and analytics solutions to increase operational efficiency, reduce errors, deliver actionable intelligence and improve patient safety. Omnicell Non-Acute Care solutions, including its MTS Medication Technologies subsidiary, a leader in long-term care for over 25-years, provide innovative medication adherence packaging solutions that can reduce costly hospital readmissions and enable approximately 6,000 institutional and retail pharmacies worldwide to maintain high accuracy and quality standards in medication dispensing and administration while optimizing productivity and controlling costs.

About Grane Rx

For nearly 20 years, Grane Rx is the leading pharmacy supplier for long-term care communities and PACE providers serving thousands of residents through Pennsylvania and beyond. Known for technological innovation and putting the needs of customers first, Grane Rx simplifies pharmacy services in a changing and challenging healthcare world.  

For more information about Omnicell, Inc., please visit www.omnicell.com.

For more information on MTS Medication Technologies, please visit www.mts-mt.com.

For more information on Grane Rx, please visit www.granerx.com.

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SOURCE Omnicell, Inc.