RxCareAssurance Blog

Long Term Medication Care Requires Pharmacy Services

2012-02-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

As a facility offering long-term care, you have to take care of a variety of issues. The staff at your facility has to address routine tasks such as cleaning, feeding patients, and ensuring that vital parameters of the patients are stable. To help offer proper long-term care, you can outsource your pharmacy services. By using a reputed pharmacy that meets your needs, you can expect medical computer carts to be filled and ready to use at the correct time.

If you are looking for pharmacy services for long-term medication care, you should outsource the search process. Many facilities have benefitted from taking the help of RxCareAssurance. Log in at http://www.rxcareassurance.com/ to obtain professional help in locating a pharmacy that supplies filled medical computer carts. We at RxCareAssurance have a database of member pharmacies from which we recommend ones that best meet the criteria you deem essential for your long-term care facility.

We work with the pharmacy services you decide on to deliver filled medical computer carts on schedule. The carts are sleek, come in three different sizes, in a variety of colors, and can be used with different medication systems such as OPUS cassettes, unit dose packets and auto packaging.

RxCareAssurance makes periodic personal visits to the medical care facilities to offer solutions for any challenges that arise in the safe and quick dispensing of medication. Our long experience with care facility operations helps us optimize the pharmacy services using medical computer carts.

Save Money with Short Cycle Dispensing

2011-12-27T07:50:00.000-08:00

Pharmacies that utilize short cycle dispensing can certainly increase their bottom line in many ways.

Typically, medication has been dispensed for a period of a month at a time, ensuring that the patient has ample supply and will not suffer from lack of medication. In some ways, this has taken the onus off of the doctor prescribing the medication and putting all responsibility on the patient who has to see to it that they take their doses at the proper time and that they do not waste anything.

With the move to short cycle dispensing at long-term care facilities, pharmacies are providing unit dose in seven to 14-day cycles. There has been some resistance in moving to the system for the simple reason that it's going to cost more implementing any type of new dispensing cycle. The idea behind this initiative from the CMS is that a short dispensing cycle will reduce the waste of pills that are associated with a month-long prescription. Over the 30-day period, there is a greater chance that drugs will not all be taken as prescribed, and there will be resulting losses by the patient which will translate into increased costs to the pharmacies and Medicare, as well as drug companies in general.

By moving to the seven-day dispensing cycle, there has been an estimation of 3 to 17 percent savings in medication costs to Medicare as well as 50 to 75 percent savings in wasted pills for the person using the medications. It is therefore in the best interest of pharmacies to adopt this plan and move to a system that is more efficient and less wasteful. RX Care Assurance has been providing this type of service for more than 30 years.

Medication Carts Make Organizing and Transporting Medication Easy and Secure

2011-12-27T07:46:00.000-08:00

As the volume of medication increases, med carts have increased in importance and complexity. Today an open cart with bottles of pills or even individual cups of medicine for each patient is not feasible. With so many new pills coming onto the market, the increase risk of litigation and the prevalence of narcotics theft, the manner in which medication is distributed has to be safer from error, as well as pilfering, than ever before.
Hospitals are more hectic than ever; with personnel cutbacks, an aging population and more complex procedures becoming the norm, the distribution of medication is a more stressful and demanding job than ever before. This is why, as any nurse will attest, the most up to date med carts are a necessity and not a luxury. In addition to drawers with movable dividers, the medication cart medication cart must have an automatic locking area for the more attractive, addictive drugs. When rushing to deliver medication, you do not want to have to wonder if the narcotics are safe nor do you want to have to rely on memory to know if you have the right meds for the patient.
Nurses know there is no such thing as being too careful or too organized when it comes to patient care. Companies that make med carts know this and are always looking for ways to make their products more appealing. The ideal cart features an electronic lock, so there is no question of a lost key endangering lives or a nurse’s career. For the most security, an electronic lock coupled with a proximity card that allows for a record of who is taking drugs out of the cart and when, helps keep everyone honest and safe.

Rising Medical Costs Put Elderly In Poverty

2011-12-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

A census report out this year shows that rising medical costs have increased the number of adults in poverty to 16.1 percent. With elderly poverty historically falling below 10 percent, census surveyors compiled data examining elderly poverty after taking day-to-day expenses, medical bills and medication costs into consideration. The unorthodox spike due to these expenses has drawn further examination into medication management systems and the cost savings of elder care.
With costs of prescription drugs rising steadily every year, many chronic pain and pre-existing condition patients are seeking assistance from pharmacy services firms. Elder care facilities work with patients and insurance companies to create the best combination of medicines to make patients as comfortable as possible.
Chronic Pain: From back pain to migraines, chronic pain causes daily struggles for victims that wake each day with pain. Medications can help but, since no one reacts the same way to drug regimens, patients often experiment with dosages and brands before finding a treatment plan that works best. With medication management services, your assigned pharmacist sees you in the elder care facility from day to day, checking in on your side effects and constantly tailoring your management so you get to the correct unit dose faster.
Pre-Existing Conditions: Complicated diseases like diabetes and cancer have dedicated drugs to help you live a better life. But as you and your doctor search for a medication plan, you may find that the side effects of many medications are worse than the disease. Living at an elder care facility can save you money by finding the correct combination of drugs to treat your disease and minimize side effects.

Pharmacy Service for Facility Needs

2011-10-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Not all facilities that provide long-term care have the same needs or requirements for extending care to their residents and patients. In the United States alone, there are more than 9 million Americans over the age of 65 who require long-term care. Whether it be the care of a nursing home, assisted living or in-home care, the number of individuals who need long-term care is increasing yearly.

There are a number of long-term care alternatives for individuals who require different needs. Some of the most basic needs that individuals need assistance with as they age are bathing, feeding, monitoring medication, dressing and even going to the bathroom. Because there are so many different needs, managing facilities which extend long-term care can be a difficult task.

Many facilities require the services of a pharmacy. However, finding the right pharmacy to provide the needs for the facility isn't as easy as assuming any pharmacy will do. RX Care Assurance helps facilities find pharmacies based on their capabilities and how they align with the specific needs of the facility.

Having professional in the long-term care business assist your needs helps you to better care for your residents or patients. Each facility is different from the next, meaning that each facility has specific needs. Finding pharmacy services that tailor to the needs and requirements of your facility is the difference between extending exceptional care to your residents or just simply caring.

Medication Management for Long-term Care

2011-10-13T09:22:00.001-07:00

In the United States, roughly 9 million men and women at the age of 65 and over require long-term care. This number is expected to jump by thirty-percent over the next year. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nearly forty-percent of people 65 and over need the care of a nursing home. About ten-percent of people who enter into nursing home care stay for 5 years or more.

Long-term care is broken down into three primary areas of care, in-home, assisted living and nursing home care. The large majority of individuals who require care services receive in-home long-term care. Many rely on pharmacy services and in-home care providers. However, it's best to consider potential long-term care needs prior to actually needing these services for you or your family.

Managing patient records and their medical care requirements is a big undertaking. Nursing homes provide a number of personal care and health services to their residents. Medication management for long-term care helps care providers manage their services much more productively and efficiently.

The majority of long-term care is intended to help support individuals with daily activities they are no longer able to do completely on their own, such as dressing, bathing and even using the bathroom. It also includes in some cases monitoring medications for diseases and other conditions, like diabetes. Whether it's in-home care or resident care, care providers meet many help and personal needs.

Medication management enhances resident care and free care facilities from relying on pharmacy services, making care services efficient and effective.

Medical Computer Carts: Providing Point of Care

2011-09-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

Healthcare technology can help healthcare providers to improve the quality of their patient care. Using medical computer carts in your facility allows important information to be brought to the point of care. When making a decision in patient care, medical computer carts provide healthcare providers with the information to help inform their decisions within the reach of their fingertips.

Medical facilities are constantly extending patient care in a fast paced work environment. Medical computer carts help to create a working environment that increases clinician workflow, staff productivity, while minimizing furniture cluttering office space. Healthcare providers can experience greater flexibility and detailed care by implementing medical computer carts into their facilities.

Computer technology is convenient for providing clinical documentation, improving safety in patient care and sharing documented patient history with hospitals and other healthcare providers. Medical computer carts assist in making an accurate diagnosis in a more efficient process. Med carts free healthcare providers from stationary desks to provide patients with point of care service.

Medical computer carts allow healthcare providers to spend more time with their patients, extending detailed care for their individual needs. Patients feel increased confidence in their care with one-on-one care from their caregiver. Medical computer carts allow computer technology to be accessed from any area within your facility.

With medical computer carts healthcare providers are able to extend point of care services to their patients that comes only through computer technology.

Healthcare Technology Improving Healthcare

2011-09-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

Advances in technology have helped to improve the way businesses, healthcare providers and many others offer services to their customers. The age of technology has not only helped to facilitate business growth, but has also been beneficial for the consumer. From education to medication management, healthcare technology has provided a number of advantages for healthcare providers.

Many foundations throughout the country are eager to support innovations in healthcare technology because of their significant advantages. Reducing the cost of healthcare and expanding service to a wide range of socioeconomic groups are just two of the main benefits of advances in healthcare technology. Technological breakthroughs are making it possible to provide healthcare treatments, medications and service to large percentages than ever before.

Medication management systems have been just one of the many technology inventions that have increased healthcare services. These systems have been implemented in a wide range of businesses, from local pharmacies to large hospitals. Many local pharmacies have experienced growth in customer care through implementing medication management systems.

There have been a number of medical advances in technology that have made it possible to provide more detailed healthcare as well. Medical technology has helped to improve the quality of healthcare and treatment provided to patients. Advances in medical and healthcare technology have had similar goals, providing patients with quality healthcare, reducing costs and providing larger percentages with care.

RxCareAssurance Blog

2011-06-27T10:22:00.001-07:00

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