LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Kirby Lester reported a spike in sales of its KL1 and KL1Plus tablet counters in October following the Drug Enforcement Agency’s reclassification of hydrocodone combination products to Schedule II.
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Kirby Lester KL1 (left) and KL1Plus tablet counters. |
The pharmacy automation provider said Tuesday that with the DEA rescheduling, which was effective Oct. 6, hydrocodone — as a C-II medication — now carries many restrictions to ensure safe handling, including a mandate to double-count every prescription before it reaches the patient, as well as more stringent auditing and inventory control.
The company noted that manual methods such as tray-and-spatula counting are slow and inaccurate — 95% accuracy at best — as well as untrackable.
The October surge in demand for Kirby Lester pill counters reflects a rising awareness among pharmacy managers that manual methods to dispense narcotics are costly in terms of manpower, potential mistakes, inventory discrepancies and accountability, according to the company.
"The October hydrocodone reclassification presents a new challenge to pharmacies that are already striving to improve their prescription fulfillment process," explained Dave Johnson, vice president of sales at Kirby Lester. "The use of the KL1 and KL1Plus for double-counting purposes enables the pharmacy to quickly and efficiently verify that all Schedule II drugs are dispensed accurately."
Kirby Lester added that its pill counters use patented optic sensors to automatically count medications in retail and hospital outpatient pharmacies, and the devices eliminate human inaccuracy and speed the process of double-counts. Its latest pill counter model, the KL1Plus, also includes scan verification software to prevent a patient from receiving the wrong medication, strength or quantity. The KL1Plus, too, keeps a record of every dispensed order.
