Benefits Of Pharmacy Automation In Improving Medical Treatment

Great patient care requires effective processes inside and outside of medical offices. People also deserve top-quality services from their pharmacies to get the extended care they need to recover. The best way to address that challenge is by eliminating factors complicating pharmacy processes.

Every pharmaceutical team commits to improving patient outcomes. Technology makes that happen more easily. Learning about the benefits of pharmacy automation in improving medical treatment will help industry leaders refine their processes. Patients will get more accurate and accessible medications, while pharmaceutical experts’ jobs will become easier to manage.

Pharmacy Automation Is Happening Globally

Automating tasks can improve a team’s speed and accuracy. Both are essential components of providing excellent patient care in the pharmaceutical industry. Looking for better ways to help those in need is a continual, welcome challenge. Advancing technology is making it happen for pharmacists worldwide.

Market research shows that pharmacy automation devices currently have a value of $3.13 billion and will likely reach a global value of $7.24 billion by 2032. The research covers an extensive list of machinery, including dispensing and packaging systems. However, it doesn’t include additional advanced tools such as software and artificial intelligence (AI) updates.

Standardizing workflows and refining each patient’s experience is key to cultivating better medical treatments within the industry. Automation-improved services like medication tracking, adherence monitoring and inventory management make that possible. 

Multiple Systems Are Necessary

Pharmaceutical leaders may find the best automated updates for their workplaces by understanding the types of automation available. Reviewing the three systems may point each team toward the most effective updates for their services.

Centralized Systems

Centralized automated devices consolidate numerous pharmaceutical jobs into one machine. With extensive experience in providing innovative solutions to all healthcare environments, Capsa Healthcare specializes in central fill build-outs that fill thousands of prescription orders daily. Each location has software capable of receiving, processing, dispensing, labeling and sorting orders for shipment. There’s no need to communicate between locations to fulfill orders, which reduces the chance of human error, thus preventing people from getting their medications on time.

Robotic Systems

Individual robotic machines work in most pharmaceutical settings because they’re customized for each team’s needs. A stand-alone pharmacy may only need a machine to assist with automated compounding, while another location would most benefit from a more efficient dispensing device. The primary benefits of pharmacy automation in improving medical treatment occur when teams get precisely what they need to address their workflow disruptions, which is possible through custom-ordered robotic systems.

Decentralized Systems

Teams relying on decentralized systems need medication on standby for distribution in large-scale settings. A hospital’s pharmacy team would use a decentralized setup to keep a vast array of drugs in stock in case a doctor writes a prescription for anyone in the building. Improving this kind of medical stocking and filling system will require innovations that are different from those used in small-scale operations or single-task machines.

Recent Developments to Note

Medical treatments will be more accessible and accurate if pharmaceutical industry leaders pay attention to ongoing automation developments. Reading about advancements helping global teams streamline their operations could point you toward the best solutions for your workplace.

Medical Dispensing Is Becoming Robot-Powered

Efficient dispensing systems are foundational to improved patient care. Researchers found that when pharmacy teams in Japan used robotic dispensing systems capable of managing powders, tablets, capsules and other forms of medication, human error was significantly reduced while filling orders over time. 

Industry leaders can replicate those effects with tools like automated dispensing cabinets and machines providing unit-dose packaging. Labeling and dosage errors may not happen as frequently when robots are managing dispensing processes.

AI Makes Inventory Management Easier

Precision is essential for providing excellent patient care. AI can hone precise decision-making processes even more. AI-powered software empowers teams through automatic data collection and analysis. Teams could improve their workflows with the following:

• Historical sales charts
• Data pointing to seasonal trends
• Automated reordering

Forecasting patient demand helps pharmacies stay ahead of outages and medication waste. If inventory levels remain optimized, responsibilities like restocking will come with less financial and medical risk for everyone involved. Each team member can focus on other high-value activities that build their pharmacy’s reputation.

Software Connects Pharmacies With Health Care IT Systems

Automated software programs save pharmacy teams valuable time. They can merge with electronic health records at local hospitals and clinics to ensure everyone involved in a person’s medical treatment has the health history information they need. Capsa Healthcare provides this solution for any application and volume capacity to reduce the odds of information gaps causing improper refills or dosages.

Health information exchange platforms are another software advancement to consider. They collect a broad range of patient data from any health care provider a person visited prior to their prescription order. Pharmacy teams can review the person’s complete medical history before advising them on treatment. 

Benefits of Pharmacy Automation in Improving Medical Treatments

There are numerous benefits for teams interested in improving medical treatments and pharmaceutical processes with automation. Review these industry-wide results to see what’s possible for your business.

1. Fewer Errors and Better Accuracy

Patient safety is a key concern for every pharmacy team. Unfortunately, research shows that 1.5 million Americans experience medication errors annually. Reducing error rates is easier to manage with automated workflows. Robotic systems rely on numbers pulled directly from patient files and orders submitted by doctors. There’s little chance of dispensing incorrectly and compounding errors because machines aren’t likely to misread the data they review.

2. Patients Adhere to Prescribed Medications Better

The software systems improving medication refill procedures connect directly with people seeking medical treatments. Clients can sign up for scheduled reminders to take their dosages and refill prescriptions. People can have better healing outcomes when they don’t have lapses in medication intake.

3. Pharmacists Can Provide Additional Personalized Care

There are many reasons why people become pharmacists. Personally interacting with patients is one of them. While new software or robotic systems take care of detail-oriented tasks, pharmacists gain more time for high-value activities like patient counseling. A 2023 Inquiry study found that although medication counseling was a standard pharmacy practice, only 30.4% of patients learned about side effects associated with their new prescriptions.

Feeling rushed to return to other responsibilities, like dividing medications into dosages, could be one of the common reasons pharmacists don’t spend as much time with patients as they’d like. More time for patient interactions is among the many benefits of pharmacy automation in improving medical treatments because everyone gets more time to improve patient care, ask and answer critical questions, and ensure that patients are well-informed after every visit.

4. Improved Inventory Management Decreases the Chance of Errors

Stockouts cause workplace disruptions and pause medical treatments that may require specifically timed dosages. Automation can prevent that from happening by more effectively utilizing resources. If paired with AI-optimized software updates to manage inventory, patients will get their prescriptions on time because restocking won’t happen strictly when your pharmacy runs out of a specific medication. 

Teams can also become more cost-effective with automated inventory management. People won’t accidentally refill something that’s not running low yet if a software program accurately tracks what’s available in the office. Financial and medical waste may become less of a burden with improved systems featuring automated machinery or advanced software.

5. Patients May Become Safer Long-Term

Along with hearing instructions and getting the opportunity to ask questions when picking up a refill, people also have to trust that their pharmacy is providing medication that’s safe to ingest. Robotic preparation systems — like those available with Capsa Healthcare — reduce the risk of prescription contamination by improving refill precision.

Surfaces and medications also remain sterile if clean robotic components are the only things interacting with them. Timely, accurate medication dispensing is easier with automation and can improve a pharmacy’s medical integrity over time by minimizing human error throughout the process.

How Capsa Healthcare Is Leading the Charge

Capsa Healthcare is leading the automation effort by providing solutions that eliminate operational inefficiencies at pharmacies of all sizes. Your team could unlock your hidden potential with automated solutions like machinery that handles every step of the medication management process.

The flexibility and scalability of your pharmacy upgrades will be most crucial to your team’s success. Identify the most essential opportunities to improve your workflows by reflecting on what isn’t performing as intended in your workplace. You’ll experience the benefits of pharmacy automation in improving medical treatments by integrating tools that empower each member of your team as the health care landscape evolves.

Challenges to Consider During Pharmacy Automation Updates

Improving professional settings always presents a few challenges. Any team can manage their workplace changes with ease if they strategize solutions before introducing resources like pharmacy automation tools.

Technology Will Take Over Some Responsibilities

Team leaders will likely have to address the fear that automation could erase some jobs within your organization. Although the belief isn’t widespread, 29.9% of pharmacists agree or strongly agree with that concern.

Integration will happen more seamlessly with reassurances that automation upgrades are going to make jobs easier, not replace valued team members. Explaining upcoming opportunities — like saving everyone time so they can work more one-on-one with patients — will also clarify the point of each upgrade and its benefits for the whole team. 

Existing Staff May Need Ongoing Training

People won’t instinctively know how to use new robotic machinery or software. Those in leadership positions should prepare training opportunities before the updates become official. Everyone should know how to operate the latest tools and where to find resources — like digitized instruction manuals — for help as needed. Training may also become a recurring opportunity throughout the year, so proper procedures stay fresh in everyone’s minds.

Management Could Need Time to Think Through Investments

Adding automation to any workplace requires upfront investments. Installing hardware or software typically involves an additional fee after buying new resources. Leadership teams may have an easier time managing the investments after a cost-benefit analysis. The results will help everyone identify their financial return on investment and the multiple benefits their team will enjoy in the long term.

Potential Changes Coming Down the Road

Health-centered technology is continually advancing. Pharmaceutical leaders should stay up to date on automation opportunities likely coming in the near future to understand how their teams can continue improving their workflows and patient care. Potential updates may include:

• Blockchain-based medication tracking: This process may refine decentralized systems by helping each medical professional ensure that the supply chain handles their order correctly from start to finish.

• Pharmaceutical order-providing robots: These robots would allow team members more time to talk to patients and answer questions. Robotic machinery may deliver filled prescriptions around a hospital in place of a team member or handle customer interactions for people filling prescriptions with which they’re already familiar.

• AI data-based predictions: Predictions backed by AI data analytics could help medical teams know which patients are most likely to stick with their treatment plans. The information could improve patient outcomes by guiding teams to provide more assistance to specific patients who need it.

• Automated telehealth visits: These visits could connect pharmacy patients with instantly accessible resources for chronic care conditions. People may feel empowered to care for themselves and find solutions without waiting for pharmacists to jump on the phone during the busiest workday hours.

Anyone interested in leading the charge to more automated pharmacy workflows should prepare for potential tech advancements. Patient interactions, medication accuracy and the satisfaction of everyone working within a pharmacy could improve if the team’s technological environment grows with the industry.

Advance the Industry With Automation

After more workplace leaders learn about the benefits of pharmacy automation in improving medical treatment, updating their professional environments may seem more appealing. Capsa Healthcare is committed to refining patient experiences and pharmacy team workflows through the most cutting-edge technology available. Embracing those resources will help every pharmacy team become a foundational part of the health care industry’s future.

CEO of Capsa Healthcare, Gaurav Agarwal, brings over 25 years of leadership experience in driving commercial success and innovation across the healthcare IT, diagnostics and medical devices sectors.