Rosewell Pharmacy group based in Fife had a dilemma, they needed automation to improve the efficiency of the Pharmacy group but what should they buy?
Do they invest in a robot that speeds up normal dispensing helping the dispensing assistants to serve customers quicker.
or
Do they invest in a robot to help with MDS dispensing freeing up staff to do other work across the branch.
After researching both options the team decided to purchase a Robotik PouchPack 207 robot from Medication Management Solutions and to focus on eliminating the manual activities involved in producing trays. This involved a decision to switch to pouches rather than trays as the compliance aid.
“In the end when we looked at both options it was very simple,” explained Andy McDonald MD of Rosewell Pharmacy Group “we were wasting a lot of time putting together trays which the robot could easily do. We also felt the pouch was going to be a popular product.”
The next challenge was how the group could “work together” and take advantage of the installation of one robot.
The group needed to have a way of “seeing” the robot computer from other branches. Using common and cost effective IT technology then the branches were linked up. Each branch remains in control of its customers prescriptions and enters their details directly onto the robot computer. At the hub the robot is run and pouches produced as a batch for each pharmacy. The pouches are checked at the hub and the branches to ensure accuracy before they are delivered in the normal way to the customer.
The robot has been operational for 9 months and has helped to reduce the weekly MDS dispensing workload from 27 work hours to 4.5 work hours a staggering 84% reduction in worked hours.
“It’s been very successful”, stated Andy, “its saved money, saved space in constrained branches and given the team a more interesting job to do. I am delighted with the robot and the support team and its the best investment I have made in Pharmacy for the last 30 years”
