Swisslog Healthcare Partners with Summa Health to Pilot a New Program Driving Medication Adherence Among Hospital Patients Preparing for Discharge

Combining intelligent software, robotic technology, and managed telepharmacy services, Swisslog Healthcare assists hospitals and health systems to increase medication adherence among patients, improving health outcomes and helping hospitals optimize revenue streams while adjusting to a shortage of skilled pharmacy staff.

BROOMFIELD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Swisslog Healthcare, a leading global supplier of integrated solutions for medication management in healthcare environments, announces the commencement of a partnership with Summa Health to execute a pilot medication adherence program on the healthcare organization’s Akron campus.

The new meds-to-beds program includes secure, autonomous robotic delivery of prescribed medication and concierge-style medication reconciliation and consulting services conducted at the bedside in preparation for patient discharge. This new program will serve as an extension of the facility’s existing meds-to-beds initiative.

To create the innovative pilot offering, Swisslog Healthcare combines Delivery Manager, the company’s intelligent chain-of-custody software deployed in automated transport scenarios, with robotic technology from Savioke and telepharmacy services from PipelineRx™.

Summa Health is a population health management organization providing compassionate care to the citizens of northeast Ohio. By executing a population health strategy that encourages wellness through preventative and personalized specialty care, Summa Health clinicians work collaboratively with patients to improve their well-being.

“This unique program allows our organization to respond to the increasing demand for discharge medication delivery at the patient bedside, an essential step in supporting medication adherence,” said Dr. David Custodio, president, Summa Health System – Akron and St. Thomas Campuses. “We believe this program will not only improve the patient experience, but also enhance patient understanding of their medication treatment plans and create convenient access to prescriptions. Just as important, it will provide peace of mind to family members who know their loved ones have the medications they need upon discharge from the hospital.”

Among the benefits the organization is expected to realize are higher degrees of patient safety related to medication use, increasing medication adherence to maximize therapy benefits, and minimizing 30-day hospital readmissions.

“This pilot partnership with Swisslog Healthcare will provide expanded capacity to deliver more medications than is possible today through the use of autonomous service robots," said John Feucht, vice president of Pharmacy Services for Summa Health. “The program ensures patients returning home post-discharge are prepared to continue their medication therapy without disruption.”

Swisslog Healthcare North America President Cory Kwarta adds, “Swisslog Healthcare has worked with Savioke and PipelineRx for years. This new pilot program combines our strengths in transport automation and healthcare workflows with the robotics and services expertise of our partners to create a new offering that fills a real need. We envision hospital pharmacies will benefit from efficiencies in workflow and simultaneously capture more revenue from prescription fills. Patients will benefit from greater understanding of their medication therapies and increased confidence their prescriptions have been carefully reconciled. This program has all the makings for a win-win-win scenario.”

“It’s a critical time to affect patient attitude and belief systems concerning medication use, perhaps leveraging the mainstreaming of health and safety topics as patients adjust to the current healthcare environment,” Andy Strunk, Senior Solutions Manager and program owner for meds-to-beds, adds. “In one study, patients who participated in medication reconciliation, actively engaged in a discussion about the proper use of their medications, and scheduled a 7-day follow-up meeting experienced significantly better results following inpatient surgery. We believe we can help hospitals like Summa Health deliver better patient care and improve patient experiences with our meds-to-beds program.”

About Swisslog Healthcare

Swisslog Healthcare provides integrated medication supply chain solutions to hospitals and health systems to assist providers in treating patients across the continuum of care. Integrating transport and pharmacy automation, value-added services, and intelligent software, Swisslog Healthcare enables healthcare providers to respond to patients' needs quickly and with greater accuracy. The company minimizes many sources of operational waste, so providers achieve higher levels of productivity to impact the well-being of patients in positive ways. For more information, visit www.swisslog-healthcare.com. Swisslog Healthcare is a member of the KUKA Group, a leading global supplier of intelligent automation solutions. For more information, visit www.kuka.com.

Relay® and Savioke are registered trademarks of Savioke, Inc. PipelineRx™ clinical telepharmacy services are made available through a partnership with Pipeline Health Holdings, LLC.