ASHP Midyear 2024 Recap and Key Conclusions | Intelliguard 

Our Recap and Key Conclusions from ASHP Midyear 2024

The ASHP Midyear 2024 Clinical Meeting and Exhibition was a fun and exciting opportunity for us at Intelliguard to engage with the pharmacist community, showcase our innovations, and have meaningful conversations about the advancements the industry will need to ensure that the future of hospital pharmacy is safe and effective for everyone. Across many meaningful conversations, three takeaways have stayed with us.

Takeaway 1: Preparing for Hospital Drug Shortages and Supply Chain Disruption is Nonnegotiable

During ASHP Midyear 2024, Rob Sobie, our Chief Product and Marketing Officer, noted, “A comprehensive approach to managing drug shortages and strengthening supply chain resiliency will be critical as healthcare systems face the evolving challenges of 2025 and beyond.” Professionals at the meeting reinforced this message as they discussed topics from drug shortages and drug diversion mitigation to supply chain management. Of note was the need to address the related unknowns and challenges by implementing systems that enable communication, tracking, and staff education.

Speakers and panelists across the board agreed that hospital systems cannot afford to avoid taking steps to anticipate hospital drug shortages and mitigate supply chain disruptions. In her educational session, “Tackling Medication Shortages with Safety,” Therese Saad, the Associate Pharmacy Director for Business Unit at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon, encouraged interdisciplinary collaboration, effective communications supported through a centralized dashboard, and data tracking and trend assessment on over-prescribing and stockouts. 

In her session, “Drug Diversion Prevention: the Unexpected Patient Safety Benefits,” Linda Gordon, System Director of Diversion Prevention at UC Health, reinforced the benefits of preparing for drug shortages and supply chain disruptions through technology systems that enable systems to gather and consolidate more data. As an example, she shared her experience piloting and implementing an AI-based monitoring program. Her team created a “Medicines Preventing Medication Errors” report that aided in educating and empowering staff verification and waste witnessing.

“The future of healthcare supply chain management hinges on anticipation and resilience. Hospitals that prioritize investment in advanced technologies today will be better positioned to navigate disruptions, such as shortages, and ensure uninterrupted patient care.” – Rob Sobie, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, Intelliguard

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Takeaway 2: Data Analytics in Hospitals Are More Critical Now Than Ever

The topic of data analytics in hospitals was consistently featured in discussions at ASHP Midyear 2024. Speakers and attendees alike agreed that it is critical that health systems invest in secure data infrastructure. By doing this, they can build out an intelligent data strategy that allows them to maximize the insights provided by their data, including anticipating future problems.

The educational session, “Informatics Everywhere? Implementing Pathways to Leverage and Use Data Across All Levels of Practice,” was an excellent session that addressed common barriers to leveraging data, such as data variability and the absence of a consensus on best practices. Throughout the presentation, the following use-cases for effective data analytics in hospitals and medical organizations were presented:

• Procurement: Data can be leveraged during procurement to tackle shortages and align an organization with supply chain needs. 
• Verification: Analytics and data can support the verification of patient and insurance data, ideally helping to maximize reimbursements and minimize denied claims.
• Dispensing: Automatic dispensing cabinets and the data they provide can help organizations align with the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) best practices and reporting standards. 
• Monitoring: In medication error reporting, data and investigations can help confirm what errors occurred, helping to protect patient safety and avoid repeat errors.

Throughout the meeting, the Intelliguard team hosted demonstrations of our Mira Intelligence™ data analytics platform, providing an example of a centralized data integration solution that can help build end-to-end efficiencies for facilities, including data-powered insights that enable many of the use cases mentioned above. 

To learn more about Mira Intelligence, reach out to us. 

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Takeaway 3: The Mira Ecosystem Provides Benefits for Pharmacists and Administrators Alike 

Health system pharmacists and administrators need solutions that can enable inventory control while harnessing data to create visibility and accountability, help streamline operations, and improve medication management. We were thrilled to have an opportunity to showcase our Mira Ecosystem to ASHP Midyear 2024 attendees and highlight the benefits it creates across touchpoints in healthcare delivery.

In parallel with the excellent discussions and presentations at the meeting, demonstrations of the Mira Ecosystem sparked great conversations about the power of RFID technology and data technology in the context of supply chain management, hospital drug shortages, and patient safety improvements.

“We saw a remarkable turnout of pharmacy leaders, pharmacists, and students at ASHP, all eager to learn how to integrate data technology and RFID into their practices.” – Bob Howard, CEO, Intelliguard

We were also thrilled to dive into meaningful discussions around how our work with partners, including Codonics, can improve accuracy by ensuring medications are labeled correctly, enabling alignment with Joint Commission, ASA, and ISMP standards. It was clear to us that we, as an industry, are truly working to improve the well-being of patients and have open minds to the future of data integration and technology improvements. Intelliguard’s CEO said it best, “This digital shift and transformation in the industry supports better patient outcomes and empowers pharmacy teams to make data-driven decisions that enhance the overall quality of care. Intelliguard is excited to be at the forefront, revolutionizing the management of medications and critical inventory in hospital systems.”

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ASHP Midyear 2024 certainly lived up to its billing, “There’s Nothing Like It.” It provided insight into the current state of hospital pharmacy, the coming year, and the future of the industry. We appreciate everyone who stopped by the Intelliguard booth and engaged in such meaningful conversation about the future of pharmacy and medication management. We’re excited to see what 2025 brings.

At ASHP Midyear 2024, Intelliguard was proud to announce its new partnership with Codonics. Read more about the partnership: https://intelliguardhealth.com/blog/expanding-patient-safety-with-codonics-partnership-intelliguard/