An evaluation of automated dispensing cabinets and inventory robots for centralised distribution of medication in an Australian hospital

Abstract

Objective In Australian hospitals, a central distribution system is often utilised to supply medication to clinical areas. This study investigated the impact of automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) and inventory robots in medication distribution within an Australian hospital. Methods A prospective observational study of pharmacy technician medication supply to clinical areas was conducted over a 2-week period pre- and post-implementation of ADCs and inventory robots. Information was collected on the time taken to perform all tasks required to provide a weekly medication supply service for medication other than drugs of addiction. Results There was no significant reduction of total duration for medication supply, pre-implementation mean 73.08min versus post-implementation 68.59min (P =0.567). An instance of automation downtime occurred during the post-implementation period for which manual downtime procedures were implemented. Without downtime, a significant reduction in overall time taken was observed, 74.25min versus 63.18min (P =0.019). Pre-restocking medication selection errors were reduced non-significantly after implementation of inventory robots, 11 (0.43%) versus 4 (0.21%) errors (P =0.090). Conclusions Implementation of ADCs and robots did not significantly reduce the total time to provide a weekly medication supply service when downtime occurred, although a significant reduction was observed when downtime did not occur. Pharmacy medication selection errors were non-s…