TWST: Omnicell offers medications management and systems as well as supply systems. Would you please explain the company's product offerings in depth?
Mr. Seim: Omnicell's technology is exclusively focused on medication and supply dispensing automation. These are systems that are used in acute care settings, predominantly hospitals but also some long-term health care facilities and surgery centers and other facilities of the like. The systems are comprised of a lot of software and some hardware that dispense medications or medical-surgical supplies. All of the medication administration information is connected back to a central server that can interface with the rest of the health care institutions' information systems, such as electronic health records and computerized physician order-entry software.
In some respects, you can think of it like an ATM. Of course, it's much more complicated than that because there are many more details and variations around drugs than there are around $20 bills, but the general concept is the same. Users have controlled access to the drugs or medical-surgical supplies, which are protected by safety controls provided by Omnicell (OMCL). When the nurse or other user needs to dispense a drug, they access the stock of inventory stored in an automated dispensing machine. If the nurse has the access, he or she can gain entry into the machine and get the medical-surgical supply or the drug they need to administer to the patient at that point in time. As supplies are removed, records are updated to reconcile the patient for whom the drug has been dispensed, the inventory is updated and the charges are automatically billed to the patient. This way Omnicell's technology improves clinician work flow, reduces costs and safeguards the patient.
TWST: Earlier this year, Omnicell launched its G4 platform. Would you tell us about that?
