Cubex Veterinary Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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1 Cubex Veterinary Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) WHY CUBEX? How will the Cubex solution help my practice/hospital? Cubex significantly reduces staff time associated with supply and pharmacy management through automating manual processes. Inventory levels are reduced by implementing a min/max based ordering system, consolidation of like product and inventory aging analysis. Supply and pharmacy costs are decreased by implementing technology and processes to control unwanted consumption such as expiration, obsolescence and shrinkage. The Cubex System improves revenue through the ability to capture patient charges by recording pharmacy item transactions before treatment begins (versus post-treatment tracking). Automation of the inventory management process changes your ordering from a reactive state to a proactive operation. How long does it take to realize the savings? Customers start to recognize the savings within weeks of implementing Cubex. Most notable is the initial decrease in spend as the excess inventory is used and the staff time associated with supply ordering is decreased. The overall return on investment is recognized by customers within one year or less. What are some of the other benefits? Customers rave about inventory accuracy that they never had before. This gives them the peace of mind knowing that they will have the right product in the right amount in an accessible place when needed. What other health organizations use this type of system? Systems similar to Cubex are being utilized by oncology practices, hospitals, surgery centers, dental practices and long-term care nursing facilities. Does the staff have to use the Cubex every time they need something? No. Typically, all billable pharmacy items are stocked and issued from the Cubex for each patient just before treatment begins for improved charge capture. For supplies, the Cubex acts as the central supply location as items are replenished to the various treatment areas. 1

2 EQUIPMENT Are Cubex cabinets available in different sizes? Cubex offers three different sizes of cabinets that come both as a main cabinet (computer interface included) and as an auxiliary cabinet (no computer interface). The auxiliary cabinets can only operate in conjunction with Cubex main cabinets. Below are the size and dimensions of the cabinets. Please see page 7 for cabinet illustrations. Cubex 1000 Cubex 2000 Cubex 3000 Dimensions (inches): Height: Width: Depth: 24.47* Max Items: 264 Dimensions (inches): Height: Width: Depth: 24.47* Max Items: 544 Dimensions (inches): Height: Width: Depth: 24.47* Max Items: 824 *Allow 54 total for door swing What types of material are stocked in Cubex cabinets? The Cubex System can be used to stock any type of supplies. A few examples are: general and specialty supplies, pharmacy supplies and medications and narcotics. Can items that require refrigeration be stocked in Cubex cabinets? Yes, Cubex cabinets can be configured to allow the addition of a small refrigerator. Cubex will provide the specifications of the refrigerator as requested. What other industries are using this type of inventory solution? Automated dispensing systems similar to Cubex are prevalent in many other industries such as manufacturing, office supply management and pharmaceutical and medical supply management in hospitals. Companies using these types of systems include John Deere, Air Canada, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Meyers, and many others. How many items are typically stocked in the Cubex cabinet? The number of items that can be stocked in Cubex largely depends on the size of the items and the size of the Cubex cabinet selected. Typically we see customers stock between 100 and 150 items per column. This means a Cubex 2000 cabinet would hold unique items. Can the Cubex help us manage controlled substances? Yes. Our narcotic drawers lock down each controlled substance individually and the system allows you to limit user access to every item with complete transaction recording supporting DEA regulations. SOFTWARE How do you keep the software up to date? Under the terms of the Cubex Software License and Support Agreement (paid monthly), 2

3 Cubex provides periodic updates to the cabinet software and web-hosted software. Updates help current software run better and include bug fixes, patches, and error corrections. Updates are not intended to change general functionality. Optional upgrades which will provide additional functionality may be made available from time to time for a nominal fee. Do I need to load additional software on my PCs? No. The Cubex Smart Inventory Manager (SIM) is a web-hosted application that is accessed through your internet browser. We currently support Microsoft Internet Explorer. Will the Cubex s system interface with my practice management software? Yes. Cubex will build an interface plan for each customer based on their specific requirements. Interfaces are developed as part of the second phase of implementation to allow the customer to first gain control of their inventory and develop best practices using the Cubex solution. At that point we identify the manual overlap between systems and outline an integration approach that meets customer requirements. ORDERING How does the automatic ordering work? Orders are set up to generate in the SIM system on a scheduled basis. The customer chooses the days and times that they wish to have the restock orders automatically ed to their suppliers. All items that have reached minimum levels or below will be ordered to restore the items back to their maximum levels. Can the orders be sent out manually? Yes. The system manager at the customer site can generate orders in the SIM manually and either print, fax or the orders to the supplier(s). How many suppliers can be set-up in the system? Infinite there is no limit. How frequently are orders placed with suppliers? Orders are placed as often as the customer chooses. Typically, customers schedule orders to generate once a week. Does Cubex provide supplies? No. Cubex helps you manage and order your supplies from your chosen suppliers. Can we view and/or modify the order before it is sent to the suppliers? Yes. The system manager can modify the order once it is generated in the SIM. Any changes that the system manager makes will be sent to the suppliers via . 3

4 REPORTING What types of reports are available? Cubex offers over 30 different reports that contain data and analytics on consumption of supplies, inventory accuracy, aging of supplies, employee usage, supplier performance, etc. How are the reports accessed? Reports are accessed through the SIM via the web. They can be generated manually or scheduled to be ed to recipients on certain days of the month or week. In what formats can SIM generate reports? Customers can generate SIM reports in PDF (Adobe), Excel, RTF (Word), HTML, and text formats. The Excel version is particularly powerful allowing users to perform additional analysis with the standard tools already built into Microsoft Excel. PRICING How much does it cost? Cubex offers a variety of different cabinet configurations. These configurations are customized based on your supply and pharmacy usage. The cost of the cabinet, software license and support ranges depending on the cabinet size and configuration required. How much does the implementation and training cost? The fees are based on the number of cabinets being installed and the number of people we deploy. There is a standard daily fee for implementation personnel. The average installation and training takes approximately 1-2 weeks depending on the number of cabinets ordered. If it is determined that additional setup and training are required postimplementation, a service fee will be charged for a Cubex representative to come onsite. What if we need training after the original implementation? We offer two training options after the original implementation. Phone support (no-charge) Onsite support (fee-based service to be quoted) EQUIPMENT INSTALLATION Where are Cubex cabinets usually installed? We custom design the equipment footprint for each facility to meet your individual requirements for pharmacy and supplies. Typically, the first areas that are automated 4

5 via Cubex are the treatment and pharmacy areas. Larger implementations also consist of surgery, ER and other specialty areas. Who will install and train the staff? Our implementation team handles project management, on-site installation, inventory reorganizing and staff training, so the transition process is as smooth as possible. Additionally, the customer will appoint a project lead or system manager at the practice/hospital that will lead the project from the customer s side to ensure we implement a solution that meets their needs How soon after the Cubex System is ordered will the implementation take place? There is a 4-6 week lead time from the time the order is confirmed to the onsite implementation. Our implementation team will contact you prior to the implementation date to review the installation process. How long does the implementation take? This is dependant upon the number of cabinets ordered. A typical Cubex 2000 plus a Cubex 2000 Auxiliary will take approximately 5 days to implement. How long does the training take? Training is part of the implementation process. Training for staff takes minutes. Training for the system manager occurs throughout the entire implementation. What are the requirements of my staff? Staff is required to attend the minute training and orientation. This training will occur at the Cubex cabinet in the facility. The designated system manager will participate in more extensive training along with the setup of the cabinet and initial inventory of the supplies stocked in the cabinet. How much space does the Cubex cabinet require? This depends on which Cubex cabinet configuration is ordered. There are 3 sizes plus auxiliary units. Please refer to the equipment section. Are there special requirements for the implementation? The top three facility requirements are verification of space, power, and Ethernet connectivity (located within 5 ft. of the Cubex). SUPPORT What types of support services are offered? Both phone support and onsite services are available. What are the hours of your support services? Cubex Customer Support is available from 5 AM to 5 PM Pacific Time. All after hour 5

6 support calls will be returned the following business day. How long is the warranty period? The parts are warranted for one year from the date of implementation. included for the first 90 days of the warranty period. Labor is Are parts covered under the service program? Parts are covered during the one year warranty period. After the first year, any part that needs to be replaced will be subject to a fee. What if there is a power outage? The battery back-up provides enough power for proper shut-down of each unit. If material is needed during the power outage, the cabinets can be unlocked with a special key, and material is issued manually until power is restored. Is the data protected? Each customer has their own secure, web based database. All data is owned by the customer. How secure is the data since it is hosted via the web? Confidentiality and security of data transmitted is ensured through the use of SSL encryption at both the cabinet and in the SIM. This is the same security that is used by banks and other websites that capture personal information. How does Cubex protect against data theft and/or interception of data? The use of SSL encryption resolves this issue. Even if the data were intercepted, the data that they would see would be meaningless to them without the proper deencryption key. CABINET OPTIONS There are 3 different sizes of Cubex cabinets available. Each cabinet comes standard with shelves and button bars. The following options can be added to the cabinet for further customization: Supply drawers Narcotic drawers Small refrigerator 6

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