CONTACT: James Reno
Reno Communications
781.944.1406
jrenomktg@comcast.net
CVS/Pharmacy
to Roll Out PharmASSIST SmartCabinet Systems
for Automated Prescription Dispensing
Retail Pharmacy Leader Inks Pharmacy
Automation Deal With Innovation Associates
JOHNSON CITY, NY - November
14, 2000 - Innovation Associates announces that CVS/Pharmacy has signed
a contractual agreement to purchase an unspecified number of PharmASSIST(
SmartCabinet Systems for automated prescription dispensing in its mid-
to high-volume pharmacies. CVS/Pharmacy has been piloting the PharmASSIST
SmartCabinet Systems for over a year and has recently begun to roll out
the systems chain wide. The retail pharmacy leader is on target to achieve
over 100 installations by the end of this year and will continue the rollout
through 2003. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Upon completion of a highly successful pilot program, we determined
that the PharmASSIST SmartCabinet System addresses a wide range of issues
regarding pharmacy quality, productivity, and cost for which we had been
seeking additional technological solutions," says Bill Masters, vice
president, healthcare business solutions at CVS. "The system's overall
flexibility, ease of use, widespread user acceptability, small footprint,
and high quality features have enabled us to greatly enhance our prescription
dispensing and installation processes."
CVS/Pharmacy will implement the PharmASSIST SmartCabinet System in two
configurations, a 2-cabinet, 98-dispenser system for mid-volume stores,
and a 4-cabinet, 198-dispenser system for higher volume stores. Fully
integrated with CVS/Pharmacy's Rx2000( pharmacy management software, the
PharmASSIST SmartCabinet System efficiently and accurately processes prescription
orders, and also maintains a perpetual inventory of medications. Incorporating
high quality barcode scanning and software protocols, PharmASSIST SmartCabinet
receives orders from Rx2000 and verifies the availability of medications
and their quantities. The system then simultaneously counts multiple orders,
and holds medications in secure buffers until dispensing them to pharmacy
staff upon their final scan of an order's specific barcode label.
"Working in partnership with CVS, we have had the opportunity to
gain valuable insight into their vision for pharmacy, enabling our team
to develop a robust SmartCabinet System," comments Mary Reno, chief
executive officer at Innovation Associates. "CVS's commitment shows
that they truly understand how the use of PharmASSIST technology will
enable them to make tremendous strides in their various patient care initiatives.
We're pleased to have been selected to assist CVS in this important initiative."
CVS/Pharmacy is the nation's largest retail provider of prescriptions.
The Company is the number one drugstore chain in the U.S. with approximately
4,100 stores in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Midwest regions
of the country. General information about CVS, including corporate background
and press releases, is available at CVS's web site at www.cvs.com.
Innovation Associates, Inc., a leader in the world of automated prescription
dispensing, offers the PharmASSIST family of products to address the prescription
growth, quality assurance, pharmacy workflow, and cost control challenges
of all size pharmacies. With over 25 years of broad-based, business experience,
Innovation Associates is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality pharmacy
automation products to the retail pharmacy industry. For more information
on Innovation Associates, Inc., visit www.innovat.com.
627 Field Street, Johnson City, New York 13790
(T) 607-798-9376 (F) 607-797-3485