There has to be a better way; is how we have looked at senior care in South Carolina for the past 15 years. Heat sealed punch cards or bingo cards as they are sometimes referred to have been used in the pharmacy industry for decades and are finally being eliminated by efficient, automated medication management systems such as the Taylst™ system by InSite™.

The digital age has ushered in these new technologies which have proven to be far superior to previous methods, and in effect allow Long Term Care facilities to have a virtual pharmacy within their buildings. There are many advantages to this new system and the positive impact directly correlates to better care and more efficient medication management for patients and residents.

Some of the major advantages of an automated system are:

• Elimination of waste due to the fact that just one days’ worth of medication is dispensed at a time.

• When doctors change medication orders they can now be administered immediately instead of waiting days for them to be couriered from a physical pharmacy.

• Nurses have more time to spend with their patients because their time performing medication passes has been cut by approximately 60 percent per pass.

• Dramatic reduction in errors to a fraction of what can be achieved with the old method.

Agapé Senior pioneered this new technology in South Carolina for Long Term Care facilities and realized the advantages of the system within their own facilities. Expanding this technology throughout South Carolina and working with The Board of Pharmacy to allow the system to expand into Assisted Living Communities will ultimately lead to better senior care throughout South Carolina.