PHARMACY: TECHNOLOGY AND AUTOMATION
The Robots Are Here to Stay How innovative companies will power the future of pharmacy By Sandra Levy
Picture this: A patient who has been newly diagnosed with diabetes visits a community pharmacy. The pharmacist provides counseling on monitoring glucose levels and how to manage outof-range levels, and develops a plan for the patient if sugar levels go too low. The pharmacist also recommends an appropriate diet and exercise routine to complement medication management. This scenario and similar situations, in which pharmacists help patients manage their chronic disease, is being played out in pharmacies nationwide. But how can pharmacists perform vital clinical services, and provide COVID-19 testing, immunizations and point-of-care testing, while meeting the requirement to fill a high volume of prescriptions? Enter pharmacy technology and automation companies, which are amplifying their products and services. Many technology companies are offering products that help pharmacies more efficiently handle a higher volume of prescriptions, which has become even more challenging as COVID-19 ebbs and flows. Crocus Medical, based in Minneapolis, is a case in point. John Webster, Crocus Medical vice president of innovation and product development, said the company’s range of pill
counters, including countertop and larger stand-alone robots, can help pharmacies and pharmacists deal with higher dispensing demands as they grow their businesses, and also maintain their volumes if faced with staff shortages. For pharmacies involved in long-term care or assisted living, Crocus Medical’s multidose cellophane packaging machines and blister-filling robots can help package high-volume clients’ medications quickly and accurately. Moreover, the company’s inventory software management informs pharmacists about products that are running low, those that are in excess and “how they can better utilize these high-cost items without hours of human oversight,” Webster said. Lastly, Crocus Medical’s Self-Collect Rx lockers, which enable patients to “click and collect” their refills at their pharmacy, enable pharmacies to compete against mail order dispensaries that offer contactless delivery. iA, based in Indianapolis, is on a mission to reduce pharmacists’ heavy workload by streamlining the prescription-filling process through off-site automation, giving time back to pharmacists as they seek to focus on clinical work.
Indianapolis-based iA aims to reduce pharmacists’ heavy workload by streamlining the prescription-filling process through off-site automation, freeing up pharmacists’ time as they seek to focus on clinical work.
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