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Southwest Pharmacy Achieving Increased Productivity and “Peace of Mind” Due to PharmASSIST Technology
New Mexico Independent Touts Value that PharmASSIST Brings to their Pharmacy Workflow

JOHNSON CITY, NY - October 14, 2004 - Innovation Associates announces that Southwest Pharmacy of Carlsbad, New Mexico, has successfully implemented their PharmASSIST® Symphony+ System to automate their prescription dispensing process. Southwest Pharmacy selected the PharmASSIST technology to address its primary goals of improving dispensing accuracy, increasing the efficiency of their workflow, and gaining better control of their overall process.

"With our volumes increasing at about 10-15% a year, we needed to automate our process to ensure we could handle the growth and, at the same time, guarantee the safety of all our customers," says Danny Cross, R.Ph and owner of Southwest Pharmacy. "The PharmASSIST system brings a lot of value to the table from a quality and productivity standpoint. We've increased our productivity significantly, and are now safely handling higher volumes with much less confusion," adds Cross.

Southwest Pharmacy fills on average 400-450 prescriptions a day and has peak days of approximately 600-650 prescriptions. The independent's PharmASSIST Symphony+ System is comprised of 2 PharmASSIST cabinets, 100 dispensers, and 5 strategically-placed workstations for the various workflow tasks of Order Entry/Rx Imaging, Auto-Fill, Manual-Fill, Rx Verification, Will Call Bin Management, and Electronic Signature Capture/Patient Pickup. The PharmASSIST system is integrated with their McKesson Pharmserve® for Windows pharmacy management system, ensuring real-time prescription order flow for all Rx fulfillment tasks.

Cross points out various aspects of the PharmASSIST system that are helping his pharmacy achieve their goals. "This system makes you much more accountable and gives you the peace of mind that you're doing everything correctly. For example, the verification process forces you to be more attentive to checking all filled prescriptions. The Rx Tracking capability enables you to find prescriptions at any point in the process within seconds. And the electronic signature capture has been a real blessing given all the HIPAA regulations we must adhere to," explains Cross. "I definitely sleep better at night knowing that our customers are receiving the right medication at the right time, and have ample opportunity to speak with our pharmacists about their medications," says Cross.

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 three decades of broad-based, business experience, Innovation Associates is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality pharmacy automation products to the pharmacy industry. For more information on Innovation Associates, Inc., visit www.innovat.com.

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