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To identify efficiency opportunities, a hospital should conduct a comprehensive evaluation of its workflows. This process begins with mapping out all existing workflows across various departments, such as patient admissions, diagnostics, treatment, and central pharmacy. By using tools like process flowcharts and value stream mapping, the hospital can visualize each step and identify bottlenecks or redundancies.
Engaging frontline staff in this evaluation is crucial, as they can provide insights into practical challenges and suggest improvements. Additionally, leveraging data analytics to track key performance indicators such as patient wait times, resource utilization, and staff productivity can highlight areas needing attention.
Regularly reviewing and updating these workflows ensures that the hospital adapts to changing needs and continues to operate efficiently, ultimately enhancing patient care and satisfaction. It is particularly important to ensure the most effective workflows exist in the pharmacy which often is best done by automating processes.
Planning well in advance, earmarking the necessary budget, and choosing the right vendors are key factors in a hospital’s successful execution of workflow enhancements and implementing automation solutions. Of course, this comes with challenges.
Do these challenges sound familiar?
- The nursing staff spends a lot of time preparing therapies.
In fact, one article from Clemson University suggests that nurses spend 16% of their time preparing or administering medication.
- There is limited time for direct patient care.
BMC Health services notes found that nurses spend only ~37% of their time with patients because work patterns have become increasingly fragmented over time.
- Medication administration is time-consuming.
The actual time spent can be influenced by factors such as interruptions, the need for double-checking high-risk medications, and the use of technology.
- Dosing errors can be due to human error.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, implementing new technologies and streamlining clinical workflows can help reduce medication errors.
- Pharmaceutical waste occurs.
Proper storage systems help as well as reliable technology solutions. For example, inventory management systems to track medication usage will reduce waste, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Overcoming these challenges are top of mind for any hospital provider, especially large health systems. While there is no proven way to erase these concerns completely, there are measures which can help. In consideration of the pharmacy specifically, robotic solutions to automate parts of the workflow are highly recommended.
Additionally, there are high quality offerings that will fold multiple tasks into one solution. For example, our unit dose system PillPick Octave will store, package, and dispense patient specific treatments to minimize risk of errors. This method of medication preparation is call the unit dose approach.
Do you know the benefits of the unit dose approach?
- Each unit dose is equipped with patient-specific barcodes, allowing seamless tracking of medications. By simply scanning the codes on the therapy ring label and on the individual unit doses, it is ensured that patients always receive the correct medication in the correct dosage. Since medication preparation is automated and the wards receive the entire therapy from the pharmacy ready for administration, the time required is significantly reduced. This allows nursing staff to focus more on direct patient care.
- A study from Erasmus MC University Hospital in Rotterdam shows that the implementation of the central automated unit dose system with barcode-assisted medication administration significantly reduced the frequency of errors. Before the introduction of two PillPick systems, errors occurred in 19.5% of medication administrations, while this value dropped to 15.8% after the introduction. Additionally, the reduction in potentially harmful errors from 3.0% to 0.3% was significant.
- PillPick Octave processes a wide variety of medication types, from blisters to ampoules, and packages them into unit dose bags. The original packaging of the medications remains intact. The unit doses for are bundled on a Ring, labeled with unique serial number, automating the medication preparation process. This ensures precise and safe administration.
Unit dose strategy boosts efficiency at the largest university hospital in the Netherlands
The introduction of two PillPick systems at Erasmus Medical Center in 2018 significantly improved the efficiency and reliability of medication management there. But it always takes two for a tango: Through close collaboration with our experts, an automation concept was developed that seamlessly integrated into existing workflows.
Since then, the two systems have been supplying 34 wards with medications and producing over 47,000 unit doses per month, leading to a significant reduction in errors and higher patient safety. Hospital studies show that the introduction of PillPick significantly reduces discrepancies between medication administration and medical prescriptions. The training and adaptation of staff were successful, so the systems now contribute to more efficient hospital logistics.
New features take PillPick Octave to the next level
Now the PillPick Octave brings even more functionality to hospital pharmacies. With these new features, central pharmacies will realize unmatched efficiencies:
- Optimized Vision System:
The improved Vision System uses cameras and software to check the quality and accuracy of packaged medications. It now detects incorrectly packaged or damaged medications even more reliably. The intuitive menu navigation allows staff to efficiently monitor and control the packaging and validation of medications.
- Enhanced usability:
The comprehensively revised user software offers intuitive operation and more efficient processes. The improved and faster RFID writing and reading processes enable quicker preparation of medications, ensuring the identification and tracking of unit doses. Additionally, there is a new option for user authentication via badges and fingerprint. Ergonomic improvements with touch screens and storage surfaces ensure optimized operation at the station.
- Expanded dashboard and reporting:
A new web-based overview provides quick access to important data on loading or unloading, missing items, returns, and rejection reasons. Optimization reports show information on inventory management, most-used medications, or expiration dates. Forecasts include inventory and rotation forecasts, consumable usage, and most-used inserts.
- Industrial design:
PillPick Octave offers not only visual improvements but also enhanced ergonomic aspects. The interior of the machine is now more accessible for maintenance work. Additionally, the storage capacity can be increased through the new design.
To learn more about PillPick Octave, contact us.
About the author Julian Vogelsanger
In his work in product management at Swisslog Healthcare, Julian relies on his strong technical background in mechanical engineering. His main focus is our PillPick and MedSMART, but he also works on broader product initiatives in transport automation and OEM products.
