Benefits of Robotic Pharmacy Dispensing Systems

Robotic pharmacy dispensing systems bring numerous benefits to pharmacies and patients, as well as key members of the healthcare team, including pharmacists and physicians. Automated systems have great economic and safety benefits, and they streamline pharmacy operations, improving data workflow and reporting along the way. These technological innovations have helped pharmacies remain competitive in a rapidly-evolving industry, but they have also benefited patients and doctors in a variety of ways.

Increasing efficiency while improving patient safety

Prior to the availability of robotic pharmacy dispensing systems, pharmacists had to dedicate much of their time to the repetitive task of filling prescriptions by hand. This meant pharmacists had much less time to focus on customer service and performing clinical duties as a member of the care-providing team. This repetitive task done manually also had the potential of jeopardizing patient safety. As attentive and safety conscious as pharmacy staff is, drug dispensing errors are an ongoing problem.

Robotic dispensing machines safeguard the patient by helping to eliminate the risk of human error. And because these systems are now capable of meeting the demands of high daily prescription volumes, pharmacies benefit greatly as well. Most robotic systems take advantage of numerous safeguards to ensure the right medicine gets to the right patient in the correct dosage every time. By using barcodes, advanced workflow systems, and reporting capabilities, pharmacies can make sure the whole process flows seamlessly from order entry to point-of-sale. This also allows technicians to monitor safety standards for each prescription filled.

These systems, if properly configured, also help to minimize the threat from contamination that can result from airborne pharmaceutical dust, which some machines can create. Doing so benefits pharmacy workers and customers by keeping their air healthy.

Freeing up time and helping pharmacist-doctor collaboration

Today, pharmacists are increasingly becoming an essential part of the caregiving team, making modern healthcare more collaborative than ever. Each day, pharmacists must now provide both clinical and preventive care services, in addition to the traditional duties that dispensing requires. More and more, physicians are relying on pharmacists to play a larger clinical role in the caregiving continuum.

Automation in the pharmacy industry has become a critical component in the effort to meet these challenges. As sophisticated robotic dispensing systems help to revolutionize the way pharmacists work, collaboration between pharmacist and physician is improved. This benefits all the stakeholders involved with healthcare, from the patient to each member of the caregiving team. With these advanced systems, the pharmacist is free to perform more high-level clinical duties, including building better relationships with patients.

Improving pharmacy operations with tech

Today, robotic pharmacy dispensing and workflow systems are key to successful pharmacy operations. These systems increase patient safety, allow pharmacists to build relationships with both patients and physicians, and enable pharmacies to operate more efficiently in order to remain competitive.