Discover how a large, integrated health system reached more patients at bedside with Emporos Hilo Mobile point of sale (mPOS).
An integrated healthcare system with ten member hospitals based in Maine is on a mission to improve the health of the people and communities it serves.
Its’ outpatient pharmacies decided to partner with Emporos to improve the efficiency and reach of its Meds to Beds program which serves over 900+ beds. Using the Hilo Mobile point of sale (mPOS), the health system was able to see more patients, faster and safer than ever before.
Before: A Manual Approach to Bedside Delivery
Before Hilo mPOS, the integrated health system’s outpatient Meds to Beds program relied on a series of cumbersome manual processes that consumed considerable time and limited the pharmacy staff’s ability to reach patients.
- Patient Readiness: For every patient, the pharmacy had to call nursing staff (sometimes multiple times) to ensure patients were ready to receive their prescriptions.
- Transporting Equipment: Pharmacy staff would load the patient’s prescription, a computer, and desktop-based retail POS onto a cart. It took around 10 minutes, an elevator ride, and navigating several corridors to get from the pharmacy to the hospital building.
- Setting Up at Bedside: Once at bedside, they had to plug the POS into an outlet, power it up, and connect to Wi-Fi, which could take up to 10 minutes per patient. This was only possible in rooms with Wi-Fi access.
- Processing Payments: Staff had to manually handle credit card payments at bedside, either calling down to the pharmacy to process payments or making an extra trip back with the patient’s credit card, significantly slowing down the delivery process.
- Capturing Signature and Documents: Capturing signatures and manually uploading documents to ensure compliance for audits added to the pharmacy team’s workload and created a disjointed, drawn-out patient experience.
Not only was the process inefficient – averaging 20 minutes per patient – but it also introduced potential risks for compliance and payment processing errors. Despite the need for a more mobile solution, the integrated health system couldn’t adopt just any mPOS; they needed one that adhered to stringent security standards and integrated seamlessly with their Pharmacy Management System (PMS).
After: Saving Time and Reaching More Patients
As a longtime customer of Emporos, the outpatient pharmacies used MerchantSoft POS for its retail transactions. When Emporos released Hilo Mobile, a cloud-based mPOS specifically designed for mobile uses like Meds to Beds, they eagerly jumped on board. As a PCI DSS version 4.0 level 1 provider that is SOC II Type 2 compliant and integrated with several major PMS providers, Emporos met all of the health system’s requirements.
“Emporos has been a game-changer for our Meds to Beds program. It saved us time, improved our workflow, and made life easier for both our staff and our patients. we couldn’t be happier with the results,” said the pharmacy’s retail business manager.
Since implementing Hilo Mobile, the integrated healthcare system has experienced significant improvements in both operational efficiency and patient satisfaction at every step of their Meds to Beds program.
- Enhanced Workflow, Fewer Trips: Staff can create a queue of multiple prescriptions and patients, reaching several patients during one trip in an organized way. For example, pharmacy staff can dispense multiple medications to multiple patients on the same floor. In addition, instead of calling nursing staff to inquire about patients, pharmacy staff can simply go to the rooms, check on patients, and if they are not ready, move on to service more rooms, and then return later when it’s more convenient.
“Being able to queue up multiple deliveries at once has really helped streamline our process, reducing errors and speeding up the time it takes to get medications to patients,” explains the retail business manager. - Improved Range and Reach: With Hilo mPOS, there’s no need to lug around clunky equipment, a cart, or plug devices into an outlet. Staff can simply carry an iPad into any room along with the prescriptions.
“With Hilo, we can actually bring the POS right up to the room, saving us a lot of time and trips. It’s incredibly efficient,” says a pharmacy technician. - Secure Bedside Payments: With Hilo Mobile, pharmacy staff can now process payments directly at the patient’s bedside, eliminating the need for manual entry or back-and-forth trips to the pharmacy. Emporos also allows for custom payment methods, enabling staff to adjust co-pays as needed. The pharmacy benefits from fewer delays in billing.
- Improved Compliance: The integration of Emporos with the outpatient pharmacy’s POS system allows for easy documentation and compliance with regulatory requirements. Digital signature and documentation capture have significantly reduced the administrative burden on pharmacy staff and improved reporting for compliance.
“Before, we had to manually scan receipts for audits. Now with Emporos, it’s automatic, which not only saves time but also reduces the risk of non-compliance during audits,” says the retail business manager. - User-Friendly Interface: Hilo Mobile’s intuitive design made the adoption process simple, requiring only minimal training for staff. “By the end of the second day, everyone was using it without any issues. It’s a user-friendly system that doesn’t require much training,” the pharmacy technician notes.
- Cloud-Based Flexibility: Hilo Mobile’s cloud-based platform ensures that updates can be rolled out seamlessly without downtime. Additionally, its web-based functionality means that changes are reflected in real-time across the system.
“We love that Hilo is cloud-based. It’s great not having to reboot the entire system for updates. Changes are made quickly, which keeps us running smoothly,” adds the retail business manager.
Instead of seeing one patient in a 20-minute window, pharmacy staff is able to see six or seven in the same amount of time, increasing patient capture by 500%.
Overall, pharmacy staff can now complete more bedside deliveries in less time, and patients appreciate the quick service. This gives staff more time in the day to provide in-depth counseling, see more patients, or take on back-office activities.
“The new system has sped up our workflow immensely. Our team loves it, and our patients have noticed the improvement in service,” says the pharmacy technician.
Doing More of What Matters
The integrated health system’s adoption of Emporos’ Hilo Mobile solution has transformed the way the pharmacy handles bedside deliveries, benefiting both staff and patients with a simpler, more seamless experience.
With faster medication delivery, easier payment processing, digital signature and document capture, and seamless integration with the pharmacy’s PMS, outpatient pharmacy staff can continue to focus on what matters most: providing exceptional care to patients.
To see what Emporos can do for your pharmacy operations, schedule a demo here or email [email protected]
