Tamro's antidote or antidote stock has centrally collected rarely used medicines to treat patients who have been poisoned. Warehouse reduces the amount of pharmaceutical waste and the cost to hospitals of losses. This article is part of a series showcasing products and activities along Tamro’s 125-year journey.
Tamro's antidote warehouse was opened in 2019. The National Central Warehouse contains a few dozen antidotes.
- In its simplicity, an antidote is an antidote that reverses the effect of the drug or other substance that caused the poisoning, explains Jonna Niemi, Tamro's customer group manager for pharmacies and hospitals.
In the past, hospitals have basically taken care of the storage of antidotes themselves, now there is a national central warehouse in addition.
- Some of the medicines stored in the hospital are used very infrequently and are also expensive. It often happens that these drugs may not be used at all. They become obsolete, resulting in losses, says Niemi.
The purpose of the antidote storage facility is to reduce the amount of medical waste nationwide.
Jonna Niemi, Tamro's customer group manager, and Suvi Pajarre-Sorsa, a pharmacist at the Poison Information Center, talk about what the antidote warehouse is all about.
History: ”We were a natural choice as a partner”
In 2018, Tamro, the Poison Information Centre and HUS Pharmacy discussed together how to reduce the number of antidote preparations in hospital and, by extension, the loss of medicines.
- Our chief physician Leena Soininen at the time started to come up with a centralised antidote warehouse. Tamro was a natural choice as a partner, as some of the antidotes stored in hospitals were part of their distribution, says Suvi Pajarre-Sorsa, a pharmacist at the Poison Information Center.
The solution saves costs, as hospitals will no longer have to store very rarely used antidotes in the future.
The National Central Warehouse was opened in 2019. HUS experts compiled a list of a few of the top ten antidotes that Tamro began storing. The experts also issued a recommendation on how much medicine should be in the hospitals' own warehouses and what would be left for Tamro to store.
- The Poison Information Centre produced instructions on all antidotes used in Finland. The purpose of the central warehouse is to ensure the availability of antidotes in situations where the patient's need exceeds the hospital's own warehouse, Pajarre-Sorsa continues.
The Poison Information Center and Duodecim Terveysportti also built a national antidote database, which is open only to healthcare providers. The register contains all antidotes available in Finland and their availability information by location.
- The usefulness of the register becomes concrete if, for example, a report of fungal poisoning is received in Kainuu. Medical personnel can check the register to see where the medicine is available. Based on availability, they decide whether it is worth transporting the patient to Kainuu Central Hospital in Kajaani or to Kuopio University Hospital, says Jonna Niemi.
The role of Tamro: The warehouse circulates and the drugs do not expire
Tamro handles the storage of antidotes and the readiness for delivery.
- We monitor the quantities of antidotes in our stock and ensure that medicines are available. We manage the warehouse and make sure that the warehouse rotates and the medicines do not remain on the shelves to expire, Jonna Niemi explains.
It is important that the delivery of antidotes to hospitals and other facilities is easy and fast.
- At Tamro, we also take care of the emergency supply of our medicines all over Finland. This means that medicines leave our logistics centers as emergency deliveries to our customers at any time of the day, if necessary. This is how we also work with the medicines in the antidote warehouse, Niemi continues.
According to Suvi Pajarre-Sorsa, a pharmacist at the Poison Information Center, the cooperation with Tamro has gone well.
- Tamro is a flexible and pleasant partner. Tamro has ready facilities and channels for obtaining and storing the necessary medicines. At the Poison Center, we can focus on making sure everything works as it should, Pajarre-Sorsa sums up.
