Harris Health saw an 18 percent reduction in emergency room visits and hospital readmissions, thanks to its innovative pharmacy department. Featured in the July 1 Houston Chronicle, Harris Health’s pharmacy process relies on both hospital-based staff and automated technology in its Central Fill Pharmacy to address the twin challenges of one, patients using the emergency centers at Ben Taub and LBJ Hospitals to receive needed medications, and two, medication adherence when patients are unable to pick up prescriptions because of transportation or other mobility issues.

With home delivery, Harris Health’s Central Fill Pharmacy is able to deliver up to 65 percent of medications by mail in as little as three business days. Its high-speed capacity means the program can complete 6,000 to 10,000 prescriptions a day and has an almost perfect accuracy rate. No longer do patients have to travel to pick up prescriptions, and the problem of patients never picking up prescriptions after hospital discharge is eliminated.

“Our public and teaching hospitals do so much in the service of supporting the highest quality of care across the state,” said Maureen Milligan, PhD, CEO, Teaching Hospitals of Texas. “Harris Health is to be applauded for its commitment to reducing operational costs while maximizing their patients’ access to timely care and improving outcomes as well as serving as a national model for how pharmacy operations can be streamlined.”

Central Fill will move to a new 60,000-square-foot location and include a central distribution center, a sterile compounding suite, a school of pharmacy technician advancement with simulation and teaching labs to train pharmacy techs, and a pharmacy professional advancement office to provide pharmacists continuous education.

“We see this as a calling,” Michael Nnadi, senior vice president and chief pharmacy and lab officer at Harris Health told the Chronicle. “It’s a privilege to provide remarkable care to all our patients. Our CEO and COO have been extraordinary leaders in prioritizing our pharmaceutical distribution efforts and the remarkable patient experience. There’s no question that this is a mission we live and breathe.”