Is Your Rx Refrigerator Running A Fever?

Remote Monitoring is making its way into all aspects of business. None is more important than ensuring the quality and safety of refrigerated medications.

Wireless sensors placed inside Rx refrigerators and freezers can send temperature readings to the Cloud. Viewing this information on a cloud-based software platform provides pharmacies a complete picture of their equipment temperatures, across locations. Many major retailers and pharmacy chains are doing this today. Beyond ensuring vaccine and medication safety, this data is helping them improve operational efficiency.

One thing pharmacies have learned through the implementation of remote monitoring, is that their equipment may not be running as efficiently as they thought. In a study of 15,000 Rx refrigerators and freezers across a major pharmacy chain, it was discovered that while many units were operating within desired temperature ranges, many were also not. Temperature data from initial readings were analyzed to determine the performance of pharmacy refrigerators and freezers. The different units were then classified into five categories:

• No Action - Temperatures in the unit fall within the specified range, excluding short excursions (< 30 minutes) up to one per every other day.

• Needs Adjustment - Temperatures of the unit exist in a range narrower than the specified range, but do not fall within it. This classification indicates that the unit could be adjusted to be within range.

• Manual Review - The range of temperatures within the unit is wider than the specified range, even ignoring short excursions.

• Misclassified - The unit spends more than 70% of the time in the specified range of a different type of unit - e.g. a device is labelled a freezer, but it spends all of its time between 36°F and 46°F.

• No Data - There is not enough data to make a classification based on 100 temperature readings.

Analysis of the 15,000 Rx refrigerators and freezers revealed interesting results. While 64.3% of the units were operating within specified ranges, almost 20% or 3,000 refrigerators and freezers were operating above or below the range and needed adjustment to bring them into compliance. Over 15% of the units required review, many due to mislabeling of the data. 

Pharmacies that record temperatures manually at the start and end of the day cannot have a complete record of their equipment’s performance. Opening and closing the doors, inadvertently leaving the doors ajar for a short period, and refrigerator cooling cycles all contribute to whether or not the temperature remains within the desired range.

Pharmacies have been able to use these findings to improve their operations and compliance. Remote monitoring helps ensure the safety and efficacy of their refrigerated medications.