1. Patient Life
Safety Meets
Access
Control
Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC) in
Portsmouth, Ohio pioneers a bedside Bar
Code Medication Administration solution
that maximizes accuracy to insure the
Five Patient Rights
The landmark report, To Err is Human (2000) by The Institute
of Medicine, estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000
patients die each year due to preventable medical errors such
as wrongful medication administration. Beyond the cost in
human lives, the report estimates that the costs due to these
errors is near $29 billion per year when including the expenses
associated with additional care, lost income, and disability.
The report compelled the healthcare industry to initiate more
contemporary “Best Practices” and to utilize technology such
as Bar Coding to improve patient identification.
SOMC was quick to modernize their practices to address
these issues and in the process, recognized that there was still
room for improving efficiency and accuracy when delivering
and dispensing medications. They were utilizing a 2-Cart
dispensing system which included laptops on wheels (LOW’s)
and pharmacy carts. The system was an improvement
from previous practices, however, it was cumbersome. As
technology advanced, the need to update the medication
dispensing system became apparent.
Doctors, nurses and administrators conferred with Information
Services and Applications Manager, Dennis Ward to design a
plan of action. It was determined that by incorporating “Best
Practices” a cabinet should be mounted outside each patients
room, to temporarily stock the medications prior to dispensing.
The cabinet or wall station would be outfitted with an access
controlled lock and reader. After deciding to use the Carstens
WALLero 2000 wall station, Ward consulted with experts in the
access control industry: Accu-Tech Corporation (distributor of
voice,data & security products), SecuriCo, Inc. (access control
software provider), HID (leading manufacturer of access
control readers & proximity cards), and Microman (full service
technology integrator) to discuss the hospital’s needs and to
integrate the wall station into a system to meet those needs.
Five Patient Rights
Right Patient
Right Medication
Right Dose
Right Time
Right Route
Hospital Overview
SOMC is a 222-bed
hospital in Portsmouth,
Ohio, providing
emergency and surgical
care, as well as a wide
range of other health-care
services.
SOMC employs 2,200
full- and part-time people,
has a medical staff of
more than 140 physicians
and specialists, and is
supported by more than
800 volunteers.
Solution Equipment &
Service
HID Edge Reader
RCI 3513 Lock
Commscope 5504 Cable
Extreme POE Switch
Carstens WALLaroo 2000
SecuriCo Securus Web™
Software
Microman • Installer &
System Reseller
Accu-Tech • Distributor
CaseStudy-SouthernOhioMedicalCenter,Portsmouth,Ohio(2008)

2. “In hospitals across the
nation, safety is at the
forefront. With medication
errors continuing to be the
most common and harmful
threat to patient safety, 3
North A embarked upon
it’s journey toward BCMA
(Bar Code Medication
Administration). During
this new medication
administration process of
using electronic records,
bar codes, and hand-held
scanners, a staff-driven
decision was implemented
to utilize medication wall
cabinets to dispense
medications. The pharmacy
fills each cabinet with our
patient’s medications for
the day, as well as delivers
new medications that have
been ordered directly to the
wall cabinet. This type of
delivery improves workflow
by reducing the amount of
time it previously took nurses
to go to the medication room
to retrieve new medications.
This also eliminated the
need for medication carts,
which makes for a cleaner
uncluttered appearance
on the unit. Attempting to
maneuver both the LOW’s
and a medication cart proved
to be problematic. The
Cartstens medication wall
cabinet offered a solution.
Additionally the medication
cabinets lock upon closure,
require a proximity badge,
and offer additional work
surface for staff to utilize for
charting.”
Julie Irwin RN, RNC, BSN
Nurse Manager
SOMC
CaseStudy-SouthernOhioMedicalCenter,Portsmouth,Ohio(2008)
Ward had several primary concerns regarding an access controlled wall station that
needed to be addressed before developing the final solution.
• Pre-testing indicated that individual power sources were not reliable enough
so there needed to be a primary power source.
• The wall stations needed to be centrally networked and managed, utilizing
SOMC’s state of the art eMar system (Electronic Medication Administration
Record).
Ward initially consulted with Accu-Tech’s Columbus, Ohio Branch Manager Matt
Daugherty, to discuss these concerns. Daugherty set up a conference with HID,
who referred them to SecuriCo to determine if a software solution could be designed
to meet the desired requirements. “SOMC project requirements were to use both
a web based software solution and an IP PoE Access Control solution”, stated Jim
Andrews, President of SecuriCo, Inc. “After Dennis Ward and I reviewed the project
requirements, and after discussing the design options with Accu-Tech and Microman,
everyone agreed that Securus Web™ software solution, HID Global ER-40 iClass
Edge Hosted Readers, and iClass 37bit 2K Customer Facility Code cards were the
perfect fit to a very unique access control solution.”
SecuriCo procures the access control hardware and pre-programs the readers to
SOMC’s specifications. The Securus Web™ software registers who got in, where
and when, and how access is added and removed, with Human Resources oversight
and authorization. The end result for SOMC is a WALLeroo 2000 that has been
modified with with an HID Edge Reader, Rutherford Controls 3513 Lock, Extreme
Power-Over-Ethernet Switch, and is connected to the network and power supply
via Commscope 5504 Cable, all controlled by SecuriCo’s Securus Web™ software,
which is ultimately managed by SOMC’s eMar System. The System is sold as
original equipment and installed by Microman of Dublin, Ohio.
This innovative solution allows the pharmacy to deliver bar coded 24 hour scheduled
medications to the secured wall mount station. The nursing staff, using proximity
cards, accesses the station and scans both the medication (bar coded per dosage)
and the patient prior to administering the scheduled medication. The solution
enables protocol while enhancing accuracy and insuring the Five Patient Rights.
www.somc.org
www.accu-tech.com
www.hidcorp.com
www.securico.com
www.microman.com
www.carstens.com
“Microman has been in the technology service
industry for over twenty years and our commitment
from day one has been client satisfaction. We have
also strived to form solid relationships through the
years partnering with organizations sharing the
same unwavering commitment to our clients. That’s
why when approached by Accu-Tech and SecuriCo
there was no hesitation. Together we have broken
new ground in the medical market providing a
unique access control solution for patient safety.
We will continue to explore the best technical
advances in access control for medical and all other
areas of commercial businesses.”
Mark Petrelle
Vice President IMS
Microman Integrated Media Solutions
SecuriCo is an innovative company that has been providing in-
dustry leading security solutions since 1995. “We are very proud
of the partnerships we have created with HID Global, Accu-Tech,
Microman and SOMC. This project shows that thinking outside
the box with innovative software solutions Securus Web and
HID Global Edge Hosted Hardware can meet very unique and
demanding applications. It is further proof that manufacturers,
distributors, integrators and end users are adopting the open
and non-proprietary software and hardware philosphies being
deployed by SecuriCo and their partners.”
Jim Andrews
President
SecuriCo, Inc.