LLUMC pharmacy installs robotic drug distribution system
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After receiving an order from the pharmacy computer, the ROBOT-Rx slides up and down the track, selecting medications from either side. The robot knows exactly where each medication is located, based on its bar code, and can fill an order in about 30 seconds. |
Recent news reports regarding prescription drug errors and their effects on patients have highlighted the need for error reduction in hospital pharmacies. With the safety of patients in mind, the LLUMC pharmacy has become the first in Southern California to implement a centralized robotic drug distribution system that has dispensed more than 45 million doses nationwide without a single error. The system is widely recognized in the health-care industry for its accuracy in the prevention of medication errors.
ROBOT-Rx fills medication orders each day for hospitalized patients. Once a pharmacist enters a medication order into the computer and checks for any possible drug interactions, the robot goes to work.
Situated in a long, narrow space, the robot slides back and forth down a track between two shelves filled with rows of medications. Every medication on the shelf has a bar code that has been entered into the robot's system. This means that the robot knows exactly where each drug is located. It moves up and down the track, gathering a patient's medications with its "armē and finally depositing them in the patient's cassette--a small bin that will be delivered to the unit. If new drug orders come in after all of the cassettes have been filled for the day, the robot deposits each order into an envelope in the envelope feeder for delivery by courier.
According to estimates by Paul Norris, PharmD, director of pharmacy services, the ROBOT-Rx will be able to fill approximately 500 medication orders in a five-hour period. The manufacturer, McKessonHBOC Automated Healthcare, estimates that the robot can select one medication in under three seconds and fill one patient's order in less than 30 seconds.
The robot is also capable of knowing what medications it needs to fill orders, what it has in stock, and when it's time to reorder. It even sends an order to the pharmacy's purchasing agent when medications are running low.