RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)
340B Accuracy
Maximizing 340B Savings and Ensuring Accurate
Charge Capture in the Operating Room
Overview
The 340B Drug Pricing Program provides significant savings to eligible hospitals by allowing them to purchase medications at discounted rates. However, realizing these savings depends heavily on accurately documenting the National Drug Code (NDC) at the time of administration. Without precise NDC documentation, hospitals risk missing out on 340B savings, purchasing medications at Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC), and incurring unnecessary Third-Party Administrator (TPA) fees. Codonics Safe Label System (SLS) ensures 340B compliance in the operating room (OR) by accurately capturing the NDC for every medication administered, ultimately helping hospitals save money and avoid costly mistakes.
The Challenge of Acquiring NDCs in the Operating Room
In the OR, anesthesia providers often prepare medications without written orders, leading to gaps in NDC documentation. Once a medication is drawn into a syringe and the vial is discarded, the NDC data is no longer available for accurate documentation in the patient record. Without the ability to capture the NDC electronically, hospitals must either guess the administered NDC—often incorrectly—or default to WAC pricing, which can be financially detrimental.
Codonics Safe Label System offers a solution by electronically capturing the exact NDC at the time of medication administration, ensuring that hospitals can track every NDC administered to patients and apply the 340B savings wherever applicable.
The Solution: SLS & SLS-WAVE
Codonics SLS, combined with SLS-WAVE, integrates seamlessly with Epic and Cerner AIMS/EHR systems to provide a complete solution for accurate NDC capture in the OR. This innovative system allows clinicians to document medications “hands-free” with just a wave of the syringe label barcode.
How It Works:
- Medication Preparation: The provider prepares a syringe and scans the NDC on the vial or ampoule, automatically printing a Joint Commission-compliant label with the NDC and other necessary medication details.
- Administration and Documentation: Prior to administration, the prepared medication is ‘waved’ past SLS-WAVE, which automatically captures the NDC in the AIMS, such as Epic and Cerner, documenting it in real-time with minimal provider input.
- Closing the Documentation Loop: The integration of SLS-WAVE with AIMS/EHR systems ensures that NDC documentation is accurately captured and linked to the patient’s record, completing the closed-loop process from medication preparation to administration.
Key Benefits of SLS for 340B Compliance:
- Improved Charge Capture and Billing Accuracy: By accurately documenting the exact NDC for every medication administered, SLS helps hospitals avoid over-purchasing medications at WAC and supports more accurate 340B charge capture.
- Elimination of Guesswork: Hospitals no longer have to rely on estimated NDCs or default to WAC pricing due to the inability to track the exact NDC administered, which maximizes 340B savings.
- 340B Compliance: By ensuring that only medications that were actually administered to eligible patients are recorded for 340B purchases, SLS supports compliance and helps prevent costly audits or penalties.
The Cost of Inaccurate NDCs
When hospitals fail to accurately capture NDCs, they face significant financial consequences:
- Loss of 340B Savings: Hospitals may inadvertently miss out on the benefits of the 340B program by purchasing medications at the higher WAC prices.
- Costly Time Spent on Corrections: Pharmacy staff must spend valuable time tracking down discrepancies and updating AIMS, which can result in significant labor costs and reduced operational efficiency.
- Regulatory and Compliance Risks: Inaccurate NDC documentation puts hospitals at risk of failing 340B audits and losing eligibility for discounted pricing.
By ensuring that NDCs are captured at the point of administration, Codonics Safe Label System helps hospitals avoid these risks and supports accurate medication tracking in the operating room.
SLS-WAVE: A Hands-Free Solution for Efficient 340B Compliance
SLS-WAVE is more than just a barcode scanner—it’s a “hands-free” solution that simplifies documentation, reduces manual input, and improves medication tracking throughout the hospital. With the ability to automatically capture NDCs and integrate them directly into the HER/AIMS, SLS-WAVE enables hospitals to fully leverage the 340B program’s benefits while enhancing patient safety and clinician efficiency.
Proven Impact: Finding the Money for Hospitals
By adopting SLS and SLS-WAVE, hospitals can realize substantial ROI by improving 340B compliance, increasing charge capture, and reducing unnecessary purchasing costs. The system helps hospitals “find the money” they might otherwise miss, allowing them to reinvest those savings into patient care, infrastructure, or other vital areas of operation.
