Source tagging medication at the manufacturing stage can profoundly impact hospital workflows and provide pharmaceutical brands with a competitive edge in the market. Here are the six significant benefits of source tagging for hospitals and pharmaceutical companies:
1. Streamlined Hospital Workflows:
By integrating RFID tags or other source tagging mechanisms directly into medication packaging during manufacturing, hospitals receive pre-tagged and ready-to-use medications. This eliminates the need for hospital staff to manually apply tags or labels, saving time and effort. When medications arrive at the hospital, they can be quickly scanned and integrated into the hospital’s inventory management system without any additional steps. This streamlining of workflows enhances operational efficiency, allowing healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care and less on administrative tasks.
2. Improved Medication Inventory Management:
Source tagging empowers hospitals to have better control over their medication inventory. With pre-tagged medications, real-time tracking becomes possible, leading to accurate inventory counts. Hospital staff can easily monitor medication usage, expiration dates, and restocking needs, ensuring a well-managed and optimally stocked inventory. As a result, medication stockouts are minimized, reducing the likelihood of delayed treatments and potential risks to patient safety.
3. Enhanced Medication Administration and Patient Safety:
Source tagging with RFID technology enables efficient medication verification and administration processes. Nurses can quickly verify medication details, dosage, and patient information through RFID readers, ensuring that the correct patient receives the right medication at the exact time. This automated verification significantly reduces the chances of medication errors, ultimately improving patient safety and outcomes.
4. Better Medication Tracking and Recall Management:
Tracking the movement of medications throughout the supply chain becomes seamless with source-tagging and RFID technology. This end-to-end visibility empowers pharmaceutical companies and hospitals to trace the medication’s journey from the manufacturing plant to the patient’s bedside. In the event of a product recall, RFID-enabled source tagging allows for swift and accurate identification of affected batches, making the recall process faster and more efficient.
5. Brand Reputation and Trust:
Pharmaceutical companies adopting source tagging and RFID technology demonstrate a commitment to patient safety and efficient healthcare processes. Such a proactive approach can boost the brand’s reputation and instill trust among healthcare providers and patients. Hospitals are more likely to prefer medications from brands that offer source-tagged products, as they facilitate smoother workflows and enhance patient safety, ultimately strengthening the brand’s position in the market.
6. Competitive Edge and Market Differentiation:
Source tagging provides pharmaceutical brands with a unique selling proposition. By offering pre-tagged medications, these companies can market their products as innovative and technologically advanced, differentiating themselves from competitors. Hospitals looking for efficient solutions are more likely to choose medications from brands that offer source-tagging, as it aligns with their objectives of improving patient care and operational efficiency.
Source tagging medication at the manufacturing stage offers numerous benefits to hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. For hospitals, it streamlines workflows, enhances inventory management, and improves patient safety by reducing the risk of medication errors. On the other hand, pharmaceutical companies gain a competitive edge in the market by showcasing their commitment to patient safety and offering innovative, technologically advanced products.
By embracing source tagging and RFID technology, pharmaceutical brands can positively impact patient care and healthcare operations while simultaneously establishing themselves as industry leaders. As the healthcare industry continues to prioritize efficiency and patient safety, adopting source tagging will likely become a standard practice that benefits all stakeholders in the medication supply chain.
The UnitVisID Alliance welcomes pharmaceutical manufacturers and hospitals to join our mission. For pharmaceutical manufacturers, this is an opportunity to differentiate your products preferred by 1,000+ hospitals and healthcare organizations. We also invite hospitals and healthcare organizations to join a community of the leading companies in the pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem committed to safety, quality, and interoperability with proven solutions.