|
Stephen Goundrey-Smith is pharmaceutical informatics
specialist at SGS PharmaSolutions, Banbury, Oxfordshire
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Automation can release pharmacy staff to perform patient-centred
services |
SUMMARY
For many years, hospital pharmacies have adopted new technologies to
streamline the dispensing process. In the 1970s the introduction of electronic
tablet counters based on optical light-beam technology enabled pharmacy
staff to dispense large quantities of routinely used tablets, and such
devices became commonplace in the 1980s.
Also in that decade, the introduction
of computer systems for labelling and stock control had a profound impact
on the operational and strategic management of hospital pharmacies.
In continental Europe and the US, where insurance-based healthcare systems
are common, dispensing has developed on an original pack basis. Automated
dispensing systems designed for original packs were devised for hospitals
and healthcare facilities in Europe and America, and there is considerable
experience of their implementation.
Patient pack and unit dose dispensing facilitates the use of automated
systems for the storage, stock management, picking and labelling of medicines
because the need for bulk dispensing of loose tablets and capsules is
eliminated and an automated system can control stock on a pack-by-pack
or dose-by-dose basis rather than having to maintain a complex database
of pack details for every medicine.
Automated dispensing systems were not widely adopted in the UK initially
because UK hospitals have traditionally had a mixed dispensing profile,
with some bulk dispensing, especially of high use medicines such as paracetamol
and co-codamol, together with the use of manufacturer’s original
packs (of varying quantities) for other formulations.
However, as a result of European Community Directive 92/97, which became
law in 1999, the past 10 years have seen a gradual move towards original
pack dispensing, encouraged by various UK stakeholders. The adoption
of original pack dispensing has facilitated a consistency in prescribing
and pack quantities, which has made automated dispensing systems a viable
possibility in UK hospital pharmacies.
However, the most significant
driver for adopting automated dispensing systems in NHS hospitals is
the increasing awareness of the organisational benefits that such systems
can provide.
In 2001, the Audit Commission report “A
spoonful of sugar: medicines management in UK hospitals” highlighted the importance of both
original pack dispensing and the use of pharmacy automation to reduce
risks and release pharmacy staff to perform patient-centred services.
Following publication of the Audit Commission report, a number of UK
hospitals have implemented an automated dispensing system for their dispensaries.
The adoption of these pharmacy robots is likely to continue over the
next few years. In addition, a number of community pharmacies have adopted
pharmacy robots to streamline dispensing, enabling them to address the
requirements of the new pharmacy contract.
The perceived benefits of automation
include: • A reduction in dispensing errors
• Rationalisation of the dispensing process, leading to efficiencies
in dispensary throughput and turnaround times
• The enabling of a re-engineering of
pharmacy services, which might include developing a ward-based medicines
management service and decentralising the clinical pharmacy service
Full text article (PDF 90K) |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal