Omnicell Server

Omnicell is a leading provider of medication and supply automation, business analytics, and
medication adherence packaging systems. Our hospital rely on our Omnicell Systems to increase
patient safety and medication adherence, streamline workflow, address regulations, and reduce
costs through improved inventory management of medications and supplies.
The Omnicell Server is the heart of the system. The operating system (OS) is the Microsoft
Server 2008 Standard edition with SP2. The hospital server uses Windows 2012 operating
system; automated dispensing cabinets employ Windows 7 operating system and Intel Core
multiprocessor technology. The Omnicell server also contains a database and a number of system
software components.
The Omnicell automation server manages
day-to-day operations of the automated
medication and supply dispensing systems
throughout our Health System. The
OmniCenter hospital servers are the core of
the Unity medication and supply automation
platform and are available in physical server
and virtual server platforms. The Omnicenter
servers facilitate a single, unified medication
database across Omnicell dispensing systems.
The shared database reduces time-consuming
manual tasks that can lead to human errors. It
is also directly connected to our electronic
health record system, Epic. This highly
advanced server technology enables lean IT
infrastructure, which saves time and expenses.
We have a virtual server environment which reduces IT infrastructure costs, reduce hardware
footprint, improved server hardware utilization, greater system availability, faster server
deployment, lower energy consumption, and improved speed responsiveness to disaster
recovery. OCRA (OmniCenter Remote Access) enables users to access OmniCenter from any
computer in the hospitals network. OCRA is configured so it will connect to OmniCenter via the
OmniServers IP address. The CPC is the Control PC and hosts the OmniCenter Application. We
also have an I/O Server, which is devoted to handling communication between OmniCenter and
other interfaces, such as ADT and PIS.
As our Pharmacy IT Analyst and database manager, the OmniServer Manager (OSM)
Administrative tool is the main graphical user interface (GUI) that I use to set up, configure,
maintain, stop and start applications, and monitor all Omnicell Server Software. Even though the

OSM does not run as a service, it is enhanced to support running Omnicell applications in the
service context. When an application runs as a service, it automatically starts running soon after
the boot process. To help applications run as a service, Windows provides a service context: an
environment that allows an application to start before you logon the system. This is different
from a user context, in which you have to be logged on before the application can run. Database
management and administration functions take place at the OmniCenter server. The OSM is
responsible for sharing connections, called shares, on the local machine. Setting up a shared
connection allows access by all machines mapping to the server. The system software brings
Workstation PCs (WPCs) machines together as part of the OmniServer machine network. By
clicking WPC Status, as a site administrator I can view the status of one or more WPCs from the
primary server at a glance. Applications on the WPC are managed, controlled, and monitored by
the system software. When an application is configured in the OSM, the application is
manageable. This provides extensive support capability for the existing system software
functionality, such as when and how applications on the WPC start or stop, stores WPC log files
to the primary server, and synchronizes WPC time with the primary server. The primary server is
capable of deploying upgrades and patches to one or all WPCs on the network. WPCs are
grouped per OmniCenter installation or CPC to make it easier to locate in a multi-install
machine.
The Omnicenter enterprise-class hospital server collects data from six Omnicell medication and
supply automation systems. This helps
prevent errors, formulary and system
maintenance, and cuts out addition steps
from medication and supply management,
so clinical staff can focus more on patient
care activities. It serves as a platform for a
variety of hospital applications interfaced
with the hospitals information system
computers. It has flexible, secure user
management options like biometric ID,
complete password, barcode and magnetic
card readers. It also provides flexible suite
of reports that may be schedule, e-mailed, and exported to Microsoft Excel. The Omnicenter
server can be accessed from any PC connected to the hospitals network and can be connect to
network printers.
The use of the server supports critical business analysis that helps monitor productivity and
compliance as well as optimize distribution of medication and supplies. It also provides
documentation for Joint Commission, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Board of

Pharmacy, and other standards and regulations. Three main data analysis tools that I use are
Omnicell Analytics, Pandora Clinicals and Pandora Financials.
Omnicell Analytics gathers information
from our databases that are managed by
OmniCenter to allow for easy viewing of
data in charts and reports. Omnicell
Analytics is built on a web browser enabled
platform and resides on the Windows 2012
OmniServer that hosts the OmniCenter.
Omnicell Analytics provide data analysis
for improved diversion detection, patient
safety, and regulation compliance. It is
focused on identifying staff that have
interesting usage patterns and allows me to evaluate user and patient medication records to
identify potential diverters. Diversion is the process of diverting medication away from its
intended use. Diversion is usually for personal use, but sometimes medications are resold for
monetary gain. In both cases, patient safety suffers, and there is the potential for tragic
misadventure for both caregivers and patients. Diversion has resulted directly in the death of
patients and staff, and in enormous pain and suffering of patients when their analgesics were
diverted in their time of need. It has also resulted in indirect suffering due to impaired caregiver
performance.
Pandora Clinicals provides data analysis for improved diversion detection, patient safety and
regulation compliance. It tracks possible diversion item usage trends, displays the percentage of
cancelled, discrepancy, and override transaction in our data system and displays the percentage
of stock-outs, and the ratio of items withdrawn from cabinets to items refilled to cabinets.
Pandora Financials combines inventory visibility with cost and charge information, enabling
improved hospital inventory control. It displays the cost per patient visit/case value. Displays the
quantity and dollar value of item items, tracks the usage velocity of item items, and tracks the
percentage of successful issues of items from cabinets, for billable and non-billable items.

Bibliography:
Omnicell. Hospital servers with a single, unified medication database. 2015. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.