Cardinal Health has introduced an expanded suite of consulting, analytics and operations services to help hospital pharmacy directors improve cost containment, workflow and patient safety.

According to the Dublin, Ohio-based healthcare services company, the expanded services are designed to support pharmacy directors in helping their hospitals address ongoing economic constraints, improve quality outcomes and implement solutions to improve patient safety. Pharmacy directors can customize the specific consultation, project management, data analytics, benchmarking or on-site operations support services they need, based on their organizations' efficiency and quality goals.

Key offerings of the expanded service include:

• Consulting Services-Many hospital pharmacies need targeted expertise and resources to address specific challenges related to regulatory compliance and accreditation, patient safety, operational productivity, drug purchasing, medication dispensing automation, charge capture and outpatient operations. Cardinal Health now provides access to a team of experts who can identify and implement improvements to pharmacy challenges in these specific areas.

• Data and Analytics Services-Through proprietary benchmarking software and tools, Cardinal Health can help pharmacy directors quickly and accurately identify top medication cost drivers and trends and optimize the performance of automated medication dispensing systems. Armed with this insight, hospital pharmacy leaders are better empowered to identify and qualify savings opportunities, improve the impact of clinical programs and maximize investments in automation.

• Operations Support-Cardinal Health also now provides expertise and, if requested, on-site resources to support pharmacy directors who need ongoing assistance managing key back-office functions including purchasing, inventory operations and monitoring medication dispensing systems, so they can focus more time on clinical programs and patient care.