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IV Compounding 2019
New Options Garner Consideration, But Traditional Solutions Still Outperform
Author
Paul Hess
Author
Paul Warburton
While patient safety and regulatory compliance are the main purchasing drivers for IV workflow management solutions and IV robots, many organizations are also looking to consolidate their pharmacy systems. To this end, organizations are wondering whether the workflow management solutions from EMR vendor Epic and broader pharmacy vendors BD and Omnicell are performing on par with those of the strong traditional players Baxter and Grifols. IV robots continue to fall short of customers’ expectations, though vendor acquisitions and mergers have shifted the performance landscape. Against this market backdrop, this report examines vendor differentiation in the key areas of market energy, patient safety, product throughput, and functionality.
Gravimetric Functionality Increases Interest in BD but Poses Challenges
BD is the vendor most considered in IV workflow management purchasing decisions, thanks to BD’s broad pharmacy presence and to recent ISMP guidelines advocating the use of technology-assisted verification, including gravimetric verification, which BD offers and which all BD respondents report using. However, BD customers use the system for the lowest average percentage of their total IV compounding, report less of an ROI than they expected, and rate the product’s functionality low. While some of their challenges are universal to all IV workflow management systems, lack of strong guidance from BD has left customers wanting more support in managing product glitches, dealing with US billing needs, and overcoming the universally steep learning curve of gravimetric verification. Consolidation is a key factor in considerations of Omnicell’s new platform, IVX Workflow. Adoption of the technology is currently too low for KLAS to report performance data.
Traditional Players Baxter and Grifols Drive Better Efficiency and ROI
Baxter and Grifols customers typically use photo capture for verification (though Baxter also offers gravimetric verification). While photo-capture verification requires more steps, it is less disruptive to workflows. Customers of both vendors report improved patient safety through barcoding, enforcement of safe compounding practices, and thorough documentation. Grifols is the current Best in KLAS Category Leader and is particularly noted for having more regulatory-reporting information available. In addition to the benefits of efficiency, functionality, and decreased drug waste, Baxter customers appreciate the vendor’s move from per-unit pricing to a standard licensing fee, and Grifols customers feel their solution is less costly than other products. Despite the ROI, Baxter customers are the most likely to consider leaving, reporting weaker vendor relationships and less development than they would like.
Epic Functionality Improving but Not There Yet
Given Epic’s enterprise reach, many Epic EMR customers naturally consider Epic IV Dispense Prep. Those who currently use the module appreciate that it is included in their standard Epic license but feel it still lacks some functionality, including verification hardware, compounding-guidance resources, and in-process data tracking (e.g., temperature and cleaning logs). Most interviewed customers do not yet have the photo-capture verification functionality, which was first made available in the 2018 upgrade. While customers acknowledge the safety gains created by the integrated barcoding, the other functionality gaps lead them to report lower satisfaction with the module’s impact on patient safety.
Weaker Relationships Lead to ARxIUM Decline
Historically, ARxIUM’s strong customer relationships and handholding helped them outperform Omnicell by a wide margin. However, acquisition-related challenges have diverted ARxIUM’s focus and led to a significant decline in overall satisfaction. Meanwhile, Omnicell has improved support and stabilized relationships following their acquisition of Aesynt. In addition, Omnicell has developed a new managed services model intended to optimize customer use of the i.v.STATION. Though not yet widely adopted, the model has improved satisfaction for two interviewed customers. Regardless of vendor, achieving expected throughput is a universal challenge for IV robot users. Those who see the most success use their robots for very specific strategies—e.g., compounding large batches of a small number of drugs, limiting use to high-risk or hazardous drugs only, or creating standardized workflows for processing patient-specific doses.
Writer
Elizabeth Pew
Designer
Jess Wallace-Simpson
This material is copyrighted. Any organization gaining unauthorized access to this report will be liable to compensate KLAS for the full retail price. Please see the KLAS DATA USE POLICY for information regarding use of this report. © 2024 KLAS Research, LLC. All Rights Reserved. NOTE: Performance scores may change significantly when including newly interviewed provider organizations, especially when added to a smaller sample size like in emerging markets with a small number of live clients. The findings presented are not meant to be conclusive data for an entire client base.