Automated pharmacy solutions cover a lot of ground. Dispensing robots, monitored dosage system (MDS) packing machines, 24/7 collection kiosks, prescription software and secure cabinets all fall under the heading, and they solve very different problems. Choosing between them is easier if you start from the problem you are trying to fix, not from the equipment.
This article sets out the main automated pharmacy solutions available to UK pharmacies, the problem each one is designed to solve, and what to think about before you commit.
Start with the problem, not the machine
It is easy to be drawn to the most impressive piece of equipment. A better question is where your team’s time is going, or where mistakes and delays are most likely. A pharmacy that spends hours packing MDS has a different answer from one whose counter is overwhelmed at collection time, and the right solution for each is different too.
Matching problems to automated pharmacy solutions
- Dispensing takes too long, or too much staff time goes on picking: original pack dispensing robots store medicines in their original packs and retrieve them on demand. Start with what original pack dispensing is and how it works.
- MDS preparation is taking too much time: MDS automation handles the repetitive packing, with built-in vision verification. See how MDS automation can make pharmacy more efficient.
- Collection is creating queues and counter interruptions: MedLocker prescription collection kiosks let patients collect securely at a time that suits them. We compare the approaches in MedLocker vs traditional prescription collection.
- Prescriptions waiting for collection are hard to find: Scriptlife helps you store and track prescriptions, and our guide to scan-to-shelf in pharmacy explains how recording where each one is stored makes it quicker to find.
- Ward stock or controlled drugs need tighter control: Ward Cabinet provides secure, traceable ward stock management, and CD Cabinets cover the secure storage of controlled drugs.
What to consider before choosing
Whichever automated pharmacy solutions you are weighing up, a few practical questions apply: how much space you have and where the equipment would sit; how it connects to your pharmacy system; what training your team will need; and how your volumes are likely to change. For robots in particular, our guide on what to consider before investing in a dispensing robot goes through the questions in more detail.
You don’t have to automate everything at once
Most pharmacies begin with one area and add others as the benefits show. 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 pulls the whole picture together.
Not sure which automated pharmacy solution fits? Our pharmacy efficiency review looks at your workflow, or get in touch to talk it through.
