Stock sits at the centre of how a pharmacy runs. Too little and prescriptions are delayed; too much and money is tied up on shelves, with the added risk that medicines reach their expiry date before they are dispensed. Managing it well takes constant attention, and much of that attention is manual.
This article looks at where manual pharmacy stock management causes problems, and how different types of automation can help.
Where manual stock management goes wrong
Manual processes tend to hit the same few problems: stock put away in the wrong place, items that can’t be found when they’re needed, expiry dates checked only occasionally, and counts that drift from what the system says is on the shelf. None of this is down to carelessness. It’s what happens when busy teams rely on memory and regular manual checks to keep track of hundreds of products.
Original pack dispensing robots: stock with a known location
Original pack dispensing robots store medicines in their original packs and keep track of where each one is. Because the system knows what it holds, stock can be found and picked without searching the shelves, which makes it easier to keep tight control of what is on hand. Models such as OPTIMA are designed to automate loading, restocking and expiry tracking, and an automatic loader such as ALPHA sorts and loads deliveries into the robot, taking the manual put-away out of the process. Our guide on what to consider before investing in a dispensing robot covers how to weigh this up.
Cabinets: secure access and traceability
Some stock needs tighter control than the rest. Ward Cabinet is designed for secure, traceable ward stock management, and CD Cabinets cover the secure storage of controlled drugs. For stock that carries the most risk, knowing it is secure and being able to trace it matters as much as knowing where it sits.
Tracking prescriptions after dispensing
Stock management doesn’t stop when a medicine is dispensed. Bagged prescriptions waiting for collection also need storing and finding. Scriptlife helps pharmacies store and track prescriptions and notify patients, and our guide to scan-to-shelf in pharmacy explains how recording where each prescription is stored makes it quicker to find.
What better pharmacy stock management looks like
Better pharmacy stock management can mean less time spent searching for products, a clearer view of what is held and when it expires, fewer items left to go out of date, and cleaner records when you need them. It also frees staff from some of the routine handling, which is time they can spend on patients.
Where to start
You don’t need to automate everything at once. Start with the area where stock problems cost you the most time, and build from there. Our guides on where to start with pharmacy automation and what you can automate in a pharmacy can help you decide, and our guide to pharmacy automation in the UK brings the options together.
Not sure where stock control is costing you most? Our pharmacy efficiency review looks at your workflow, or get in touch to talk it through.
