What are the benefits of having automated pharmacies?
There are key benefits of having pharmacy automation in both hospitals and community pharmacies. Fundamentally, it is essential to have a system in place, which is going to speed up the whole operation of dispensing and free up time for pharmacists. The actual technical process of dispensing is a series of mechanical actions and the use of a robot is a very good way of doing this effectively. Robots are also an effective way of using storage space: they can store a lot of stock in a very small and compact area, and they are able to access products very quickly. After keying in details from a prescription via a computer terminal, the robot will go along and pick the item, and then send it back down a chute, and in some systems, will even label it as well. Does this mean there’s not much opportunity for mistakes? That’s right. It has been found that they are of benefit for that purpose. Having spoken to most people, the main reason they were introduced was to use staff more effectively.
