SAN DIEGO (Oct. 19, 2016) — Intelliguard® RFID Solutions from MEPS Real-Time, Inc., is offering the IntelliGuard® Anesthesia, a first-of-its-kind medication inventory optimization system specifically designed with anesthesia workflows in mind. IntelliGuard®Pharmacy will debut at the American Society of Anesthesiologists® Anesthesiology 2016 Annual Meeting in Chicago on Oct. 22-24, 2016, at booth #4814.
Using patented and exclusive radio frequency identification (RFID), the IntelliGuard® Anesthesia provides true anesthesia medication management and inventory automation, recording real-time drug utilization data in the operating room, without disrupting anesthesiologists or delaying patient care.
IntelliGuard® Anesthesia is designed for both anesthesiologists and pharmacists — ensuring the right medications, in the right quantities, are available for rapid and optimum patient care. IntelliGuard® Anesthesia combines secure in-room storage and access to medications and narcotics with true automated data collection. Anesthesiologists simply open a drawer, use what’s needed and close the drawer, while IntelliGuard® Anesthesia relays precise inventory details to the pharmacy in real-time for every transaction, every minute of every day in every room. That’s critical for anesthesiologists who rely on immediate access to the right medications at the right time for optimal patient care.
IntelliGuard® Anesthesia — Empowering Anesthesia Care Teams, Hospital Pharmacists and Pharmacy Techs
IntelliGuard® Anesthesia uses small RFID tags to track each drug vial, syringe, bag, tube, ampule or other container in anesthesia medication kits and trays. The tags have an antenna and chip containing a unique serial number. Using the Intelliguard® RFID Encoding Workstation™, pharmacy technicians utilize a simple, patent-pending process to associate the RFID tag’s unique serial number with the medication detail in a local database, including medication name, NDC number, lot number, and expiration date. With one encoding step in the pharmacy, this RFID tag data is used throughout the IntelliGuard® Anesthesia, requiring no further scanning or computer entries.
Once tagged and encoded, anesthesia medications and narcotics are securely stored in an RFID-enabled IntelliGuard®Anesthesia located in each operating room. Each time an IntelliGuard® Anesthesia station is opened and closed, the IntelliGuard® Anesthesia automatically updates inventory details — in real-time, with no counting, scanning or paper recording. And, because individual drug utilization details are tracked automatically, restricted access is not required; open matrix drawers offer truly unimpeded access at the point of care.
In the background, inventory details for each IntelliGuard® Anesthesia station are relayed in real-time to the Intelliguard® Client Intelligence Portal. This notification and reporting software application provides remote inventory status to allow pharmacy teams to respond to clinical needs, support safe drug inventory management and distribution processes, and enable data-driven inventory par levels and purchasing decisions.
“IntelliGuard® Anesthesia is the most significant advancement in anesthesia medication inventory management in the past 15 years. With our advanced and patented RFID solutions, IntelliGuard® Anesthesia performs all the inventory detail tasks anesthesiologists shouldn’t have to and don’t want to, think about but that pharmacists require to optimally support anesthesia care teams and run the safest, most cost-effective, medication management operation,” said Shariq Hussain, MEPS Real-Time, Inc. president, and CEO.
The Intelliguard® RFID Ecosystem
The IntelliGuard® Anesthesia is part of a larger Intelliguard® RFID ecosystem offered by MEPS Real-Time, Inc. and designed for safe and cost-effective remote critical inventory management. The RFID Smart Tag Encoding Workstation is the core of the Intelliguard® RFID pharmaceutical inventory management product suite, offering multi-purpose functionality for use with additional Intelliguard® RFID Solutions including:
- IntelliGuard® Pharmacy — Facilitates fast, accurate inventory management and reprocessing of procedural and emergency medication kits and trays returned to the hospital pharmacy for replenishment. Using IntelliGuard® Pharmacy, pharmacy teams can scan more than 150 items in seconds, providing details of missing, expired, soon-to-expire and recalled drugs.
- Intelliguard® Controlled Temperature Inventory Management Systems (IMS) — Consists of RFID-enabled controlled temperature cabinets used to securely store, track and monitor critical drug inventory and the conditions in which it is stored. Inventory details are automatically updated as items are removed or replaced, and like IntelliGuard® Anesthesia, secure remote access is enabled without disrupting caregiver workflows — open the door, remove what’s needed, and close the door.
About MEPS Real-Time, Inc. and Intelliguard® RFID Solutions for Critical Inventory™
MEPS Real-Time, Inc. (mepsrealtime.com) is a leading innovator of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) solutions for pharmacy inventory management applications. Intelliguard® RFID Solutions provide unparalleled real-time visibility of critical inventory in healthcare. We develop patented technology and processes with an unwavering commitment to accuracy to eliminate human error, improve cost control, reduce risk, and increase efficiency. Intelliguard® RFID Solutions include IntelliGuard®Pharmacy, IntelliGuard®Anesthesia for the OR, Controlled Temperature Inventory Management, and Vendor Managed Inventory Systems. MEPS Real-Time® is a charter member of the RAIN RFID global alliance.
MEPS, MEPS Real-Time and their logo versions, the blue wave circle logo, and Intelliguard have registered trademarks and RFID Solutions for Critical Inventory, Smart Tag Processing, Safe Tag Encoding, Smart Multi-Batch Approval, and Dynamic Sensor Module are trademarks of MEPS Real-Time, Inc., Carlsbad, CA, in the United States and/or other countries.