Title
Authorize the Deputy Purchasing Agent for Natividad Medical Center (NMC) or his designee to execute an agreement with ARxIUM for pharmacy purchasing and inventory management software services for an amount not to exceed $55,000 retroactive to August 1, 2016 through July 31, 2018.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Authorize the Deputy Purchasing Agent for Natividad Medical Center (NMC) or his designee to execute an agreement with ARxIUM for pharmacy purchasing and inventory management software services for an amount not to exceed $55,000 retroactive to August 1, 2016 through July 31, 2018.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The 340b Drug Discount program is a federal program that provides access to special pricing for medications used on an outpatient basis. There are many types of eligible entities. Natividad Medical Center participates as a Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH). 340b is only available for outpatients. Outpatients in a hospital setting consist of patients seen in hospital clinics, emergency room patients that were not admitted to an inpatient unit, and certain surgical patients. 340b drugs may also be used for certain discharge patients. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is the government agency that oversees the 340b program.
A hospital that uses 340b medications for inpatients will be removed from the program. To ensure that inpatients do not receive 340b medication it is necessary to separate inventories. Having two separate physical inventories is impractical in settings that have intermixed inpatients and outpatients. Hospitals with mixed use areas use virtual inventories instead. In a virtual inventory system after a medication is used it is classified as being either an inpatient or outpatient use. Each medication will have running totals of items used. Each drug will have separate totals for inpatient or outpatient called an accumulator. Once the count in an accumulator becomes larger...
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