Case Study – Support You Can Count On: How MPI Keeps One California Hospital Pharmacy Running Smoothly

Representative scenario based on common MPI support interactions.

In a hospital pharmacy, a busy shift leaves little room for interruptions. Medications need to be packaged, labeled, and sent to nursing floors on schedule, so anything that slows the packaging line has the potential to affect patient care. For one community hospital in California, the difference has not been a single rescue on one hard day. It has been steady, knowledgeable help at each point where a question came up, from the day the equipment was installed to a routine packaging run months later. Three moments show how that support works.

The Pharmacy

This California community hospital serves its area with a range of services, and its in-house pharmacy packages medications for nursing floors throughout the day. The team runs an Auto-Print oral solid unit dose packaging system paired with Pak-EDGE barcode labeling software, and the way that system was set up, adjusted, and troubleshot over time is what has kept the work moving.

A Setup Built Around the Pharmacy From Day One

The relationship started on-site. When the MPI technician came to install the new machine and software and train the staff, they sat down with the pharmacy director and manager to build the system around how this pharmacy wanted to work.

Within 30 minutes, the team had a label designed to their preference and a custom workflow set up in the software. That workflow built in pre-packaging and post-packaging verification steps, so a dose is checked before the run and confirmed after it. The setup also included custom user permissions, which let experienced pharmacy technicians work more autonomously while new hires followed a more guided path. That configuration is still in effect today, and it lets the pharmacy get full use of the software from the first shift rather than growing into it over months.

Redesigning a Label Without Slowing Down

Months later, organizational changes required the pharmacy to change the format of its label. The pharmacy manager wanted to design the new version but was not familiar with the process, so they reached out to MPI technical support.

An MPI representative connected over Zoom, set up a new label template to the manager’s specifications, and applied it to hundreds of drugs in the pharmacy’s library in a couple of clicks rather than one entry at a time. The representative walked the manager through each step along the way, so the knowledge stayed with the pharmacy. The manager can now make label changes independently, without stopping to call for help.

A Quick Fix From the App, No Call Needed

Not every question needs a live representative. One morning, a pharmacy technician set up the machine and started her first packaging run of the day, then hit a hiccup right at the start.

Her first step was the MPI Technical Assistance App, the first stop for common Auto-Print questions. In a few clicks, she reached a troubleshooting guide for her specific issue, with solutions ranked by what to check first, step-by-step instructions, and labeled photos to compare against the machine in front of her. Working through the guide, she found the material had been threaded incorrectly. She corrected it and resumed the run, all within 10 minutes and without needing to reach a live representative.

The Results: A Pharmacy That Keeps Its Own Pace

Across all three moments, the value showed up the same way: the pharmacy solved the problem in minutes and kept doses moving to nursing floors on schedule. Just as important, the team came away better equipped each time, with a workflow built to its preferences, a manager who can redesign labels on her own, and technicians who can troubleshoot common issues from the app.

Looking Ahead with Confidence

The lasting benefit is confidence. The pharmacy knows that when a question comes up, help is a phone call, a remote session, or an app away, and that the support will be knowledgeable, patient, and free of charge. That assurance lets the team focus on its central responsibility: safe and timely medication delivery for patients.

MPI has manufactured unit dose packaging systems since 1971, and its support model reflects more than 50 years of working alongside hospital pharmacies. Technical support is free, maintenance options are flexible, and there are no long-term contracts.

Contact MPI Today

For common Auto-Print questions, the MPI Technical Assistance App is the fastest first stop. For direct help, MPI’s Customer Assurance team is available by phone. Download the MPI Technical Assistance App, or call MPI toll-free at 800.257.5282.