Pharmacy automation: top 5 solutions & smart technologies to adopt
January 16, 2024
Pharmacy automation statsistics
pharmacy automation market worth in 2022
Grand View Research, 2022
of pharma and healthcare companies use AI to enhance quality control
Statista, 2020
of pharmacy technicians’ working hours can be freed with AI automation
Statista, 2020
Types of pharmacy automation solutions
Pharmacy automation solutions enable machines to support or even fully carry out certain workflows within healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations. Five major processes are particularly suitable for automation.
1 Â Storage & dispensing
Storing and dispensing medications are essential operations in any pharmacy. Every drug is handled nearly ten times before reaching the patient, leaving room for error and contamination. For instance, meds can be placed in a storage unit under inappropriate conditions, kept past their expiration date, or dispensed in the wrong quantity. However, using IoT devices for automating manual operations and inventory management software to keep track of each pharmaceutical item eliminates the possibility of such mistakes. Additionally, robotic devices like pill counters, weights, mixers, and packagers allow pharmacy staff to avoid getting stuck with repetitive actions and take on a more creative role.
2 Â Compounding
3 Â Packaging & labeling
4 Â Data management
Patient data input, storage, updates, and transfer include repeated actions that can be automated. Every time a doctor issues an electronic prescription, data is transferred to the pharmacy and checked by the system against the inventory to discover if it’s in stock. Patients, therefore, can check where they can get a particular drug.Â
Medical ecommerce apps integration with the pharmacy management software allows auto-input of the information into the system when medication is sold to the patient. This way, online order records are maintained without pharmacists’ intervention. Additionally, the software for inventory and supply management monitors the stock levels for each drug, notifies personnel if it runs low, or can even place an order automatically.
5 Â Analytics & reporting
To serve their customers better while also creating a positive working environment for the employees, pharmacies should constantly monitor their performance, analyze feedback from staff and customers, and keep an eye on the pattern changes in common processes. Using specialized analytical software for this purpose is essential, especially when the customer base, turnaround, and the number of employees grow.
Ready to automate your pharmacy workflows?
Our pharmacy automation services
Automation is an intricate project that has to be carried out step-by-step and comply with security regulations. Our experienced team can help pharmaceutical companies to go through it as smoothly and quickly as possible.
Consulting
Our experts will help you structure and clarify your business objectives to define which workflows need automation and determine the appropriate tech stack.
Development
We can develop software to support your pharmacy automation strategy from scratch, tune the existing solution to fit your organization better, or integrate it with third-party apps.
Implementation
Our team will integrate pharmacy automation systems of your choice into the larger organizational ecosystem and perform data migration.
Support
We will train your personnel to use the new system, monitor its performance, help to overcome operational issues, and implement upgrades when needed.
Pharmacy automation success stories
$66,000
in quarterly savings
TidalHealth improves efficiency with Omnicell compounding services
TidalHealthTidalHealth Peninsula Regional, a 266-bed hospital, turned to Omnicell for its IV Compounding Service and a second i.v.STATION compounding robot to increase the number and quality of their premixed compounded sterile products (CSPs). Thanks to automation, TidalHealth was able to boost its production, reduce costs, and improve patient safety over the course of several months.
2x
more submitted reports
Pharmaceutical companies enhance drug safety with a mobile app from Itransition
A UK-based SaaS provider delivering drug safety solutions to top 30 global pharma organizations required a mobile application to be added to its software suite to simplify real-time adverse event reporting for patients and clinicians. Our team delivered a cross-platform mobile application that reduced the time and effort needed for report creation, leading to improved patient outcomes.
$100
profit per patient
An independent pharmacy grew revenue with RxSafe’s solution
RxSafeMcBain Family Pharmacy, an independent retail pharmacy in Michigan, provides its customers with prepackaged prescriptions for easier medication adherence. The manual filling and checking process took too much time and effort and didn’t comply with healthcare regulations. With the RapidPakRx, McBain pharmacy reduced processing time for a single patient from 1 hour to 15 minutes, improved compliance, and significantly reduced labor costs.
>24hr
order turnaround time
Geisinger grows the prescription mail order program with pharmacy automation by McKesson
McKessonGeisinger, a large healthcare and insurance service provider in Pennsylvania, wanted to expand their capacity for delivering pharmaceutical products to patients by mail while balancing the workload for the employees. McKesson provided the company with an enterprise-level, pharmacy solution that can handle high production volumes and support throughout the implementation and post-implementation phases.
$66,000
in quarterly savings
TidalHealth improves efficiency with Omnicell compounding services
TidalHealthTidalHealth Peninsula Regional, a 266-bed hospital, turned to Omnicell for its IV Compounding Service and a second i.v.STATION compounding robot to increase the number and quality of their premixed compounded sterile products (CSPs). Thanks to automation, TidalHealth was able to boost its production, reduce costs, and improve patient safety over the course of several months.
2x
more submitted reports
Pharmaceutical companies enhance drug safety with a mobile app from Itransition
A UK-based SaaS provider delivering drug safety solutions to top 30 global pharma organizations required a mobile application to be added to its software suite to simplify real-time adverse event reporting for patients and clinicians. Our team delivered a cross-platform mobile application that reduced the time and effort needed for report creation, leading to improved patient outcomes.
$100
profit per patient
An independent pharmacy grew revenue with RxSafe’s solution
RxSafeMcBain Family Pharmacy, an independent retail pharmacy in Michigan, provides its customers with prepackaged prescriptions for easier medication adherence. The manual filling and checking process took too much time and effort and didn’t comply with healthcare regulations. With the RapidPakRx, McBain pharmacy reduced processing time for a single patient from 1 hour to 15 minutes, improved compliance, and significantly reduced labor costs.
>24hr
order turnaround time
Geisinger grows the prescription mail order program with pharmacy automation by McKesson
McKessonGeisinger, a large healthcare and insurance service provider in Pennsylvania, wanted to expand their capacity for delivering pharmaceutical products to patients by mail while balancing the workload for the employees. McKesson provided the company with an enterprise-level, pharmacy solution that can handle high production volumes and support throughout the implementation and post-implementation phases.
$66,000
in quarterly savings
TidalHealth improves efficiency with Omnicell compounding services
TidalHealthTidalHealth Peninsula Regional, a 266-bed hospital, turned to Omnicell for its IV Compounding Service and a second i.v.STATION compounding robot to increase the number and quality of their premixed compounded sterile products (CSPs). Thanks to automation, TidalHealth was able to boost its production, reduce costs, and improve patient safety over the course of several months.
2x
more submitted reports
Pharmaceutical companies enhance drug safety with a mobile app from Itransition
A UK-based SaaS provider delivering drug safety solutions to top 30 global pharma organizations required a mobile application to be added to its software suite to simplify real-time adverse event reporting for patients and clinicians. Our team delivered a cross-platform mobile application that reduced the time and effort needed for report creation, leading to improved patient outcomes.
$100
profit per patient
An independent pharmacy grew revenue with RxSafe’s solution
RxSafeMcBain Family Pharmacy, an independent retail pharmacy in Michigan, provides its customers with prepackaged prescriptions for easier medication adherence. The manual filling and checking process took too much time and effort and didn’t comply with healthcare regulations. With the RapidPakRx, McBain pharmacy reduced processing time for a single patient from 1 hour to 15 minutes, improved compliance, and significantly reduced labor costs.
>24hr
order turnaround time
Geisinger grows the prescription mail order program with pharmacy automation by McKesson
McKessonGeisinger, a large healthcare and insurance service provider in Pennsylvania, wanted to expand their capacity for delivering pharmaceutical products to patients by mail while balancing the workload for the employees. McKesson provided the company with an enterprise-level, pharmacy solution that can handle high production volumes and support throughout the implementation and post-implementation phases.
Smart technologies in pharma automation
AI
Developers often employ artificial intelligence and machine learning when creating pharmacy automation devices and software. AI performs a vital quality control function in dispatching and packaging solutions: it double-checks if the right medication is being dispatched by triggering the dispatching machine to photograph and weigh the drug, and then comparing it with the image and weight information in the database.Â
At the same time, AI-powered chatbots, implemented in patient-facing solutions, help users choose a proper over-the-counter medicine based on their symptoms or order a prescription online or via the phone. The technology can also help companies foster pharmacy business development by gathering, processing, and analyzing vital consumer data.
Blockchain
The adoption rate of blockchain in healthcare and pharma is at an all-time high, for a number of reasons. Blockchain technology enforces the Drug Quality Security Act by ensuring drug traceability. Each drug is marked with a unique code when produced, and this code can be input into the blockchain. Afterward, each operation with this medication is added to the blockchain: when it is transferred from the wholesaler to the pharmacy, when it is sold to a patient or sent to a hospital, returned by the doctor or patient, or discarded due to expiration.Â
Many companies have already successfully incorporated blockchain into their processes. Devices used in such retail and hospital pharmacies read the code and automatically store the information in the blockchain or check it. This way, a counterfeit medication cannot circulate in the system, as there won’t be a proper code for it, and the software will notify the pharmacist about a mismatch. Fake medicines pose a massive threat to the health and lives of patients and also cause 37,700 pharmacy professionals to lose their jobs annually in the EU.
RPA
Robotic process automation interconnects closely with AI in pharmacy and healthcare operations. RPA applied in healthcare and the pharmaceutical sector ensures the accuracy of processes like automatic medication dispensing and proper storage based on their unique barcodes, placing orders, and tracking returns. It also enables pharmacies to collect, store, update, and quickly extract patient data, as well as generate reports for caregivers, doctors, and regulatory authorities.
Best integrations for pharmacy automation
Pharmacies are often a part of a larger healthcare organization, be it hospitals, long-term care facilities, or central fill stations. For these organizations to run smoothly, pharmacy software must be connected to the IT ecosystem.
Enable timely prescription fulfillment and refills based on the information in patients’ medical history to avoid delivering the wrong medications, keep track of substance usage, and reduce the time and effort needed for order processing.
Coordinate equipment and substance ordering, their timely maintenance and proper storage, and optimize medication distribution across your hospital facilities according to real-time needs.
Boost profits by selling your pharmaceutical products and services online 24/7 with the help of ecommerce tools.
Connect with your customers, understand their needs, and improve their experience, fostering trust and loyalty with various patient engagement software.
How to choose a pharmacy automation solution
Deciding on the best pharmacy automation solution can be tricky, so we advise splitting the selection into four steps.
1
2
3
4
Pharmacy automation benefits
Increased precision & safety
Inadequate measurement or contamination of medicine poses enormous risks for pharmacies and their customers, so human pharmacists must always stay alert, which is tiring. Machines, on the other hand, can ensure the precise weight, aspect ratio of the compounds, and sterility of the medication regardless of the number of operations.
Improved efficiency & resource allocation
The Journal of the American Pharmacist Association states in its research that pharmacists can save more than 46.5 minutes per 100 prescriptions filled by robotic dispensing devices compared to the traditional count and pour method. Pharmacy employees can allocate this time to provide better patient care or participate in drug research and development.
Reduced waste
Automation reduces medicine waste due to expiration or contamination, prevents overstocking and damage of fragile medicine packaging, thereby making pharmaceutical operations more cost-effective.
Improved data protection & confidentiality
Pharmacy management software helps keep patients’ data securely stored and processed according to industry standards and regulations. Automated record-keeping and prescription fulfillment allow pharmacies to reduce the risk of drug misplacement or abuse while ensuring compliance with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Automation adoption challenges
Interoperability & standardization issues
Interoperability & standardization issues
Significant initial investment
Significant initial investment
Set-up & maintenance
Set-up & maintenance
Entrust pharmacy automation to experts
Automating pharmacy operations has become necessary for growing your business while maintaining high-quality services and safe working conditions. However, such a complex process has many challenges for pharma organizations with little experience. In order to get ROI from your pharmacy automation systems faster and avoid getting bogged down by common automation implementation obstacles, we recommend partnering with an automation solutions provider with years of experience in the industry.
Need a reliable pharmacy automation provider?
FAQs
What is the cost of pharmacy automation?
How long does it take to automate pharmacy services?
The timeline depends on the complexity of the project. The average process takes from 9 to 18 months, but you should consult your automation service provider to calculate the project timeline for your particular case.
How did the COVID pandemic influence automation?
Will pharmacy staff lose jobs because of AI and automation?
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