Robots Filling Prescriptions Faster, More Accurately
Proponents Say It Frees Pharmacists For Patient Interaction
POSTED: 3:00 pm EST November 17,
2008
UPDATED: 6:33 pm EST November 17,
2008
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BOSTON -- Some Massachusetts pharmacies are turning to a type of robot technology to help fill some of the most common prescriptions for its customers.
Robots Helping Fill PrescriptionsIt’s estimated that nearly 80 million prescriptions will be filled this year in Massachusetts alone. At Eaton Apothecary in Wellesley, pharmacists fill hundreds each day, but half of the prescription bottles are filled by machine.“Thirty tablets a second, 134 prescriptions an hour,” said Matthew Sherlock, a certified pharmacy technician at Eaton Apothecary.Not all medications are filled this way, but their machine, made by Parata Systems, can store and dispense more than 200 of the most popular prescriptions -- everything from antibiotics to blood pressure medications.Proponents of the technology said Parata’s machines can work faster and more accurately than most human pharmacists.“There's no way I could count 90 tablets in that amount of time,” said Sherlock.The Parata stores each medication in a separate cassette, which is bar coded and double-checked for safety. Operated by a computer, the machine’s robotic arm locates and picks up an empty prescription bottle, moves it to the correct cassette, dispenses the medication, puts on the safety cap, and then places the filled prescription bottle on a shelf, alphabetized according to the patient’s last name.In 2006, the Institute of Medicine estimated that 1.5 million people are harmed by getting the wrong medication each year.Ken Farbstein, a spokesman for Parata, said: “It's a huge problem. There are thousands of people who die from medication errors every year, and there are probably a lot more than that that we don't even know about.”In recent years NewsCenter 5 has reported on countless close calls with medication mixups. In fact, Team 5 Investigates learned that the CVS pharmacy chain will remain under state supervision until December 2009, after an outside safety review found room for improvement.Even proponents of the technology said machines will not soon -- or perhaps ever -- replace pharmacists. Instead, they said, it will allow them to spend more time on what matters most.“With this machine,” said Sherlock, “it allows you to have a lot more time to do consultations with patients.”
Robots Helping Fill PrescriptionsIt’s estimated that nearly 80 million prescriptions will be filled this year in Massachusetts alone. At Eaton Apothecary in Wellesley, pharmacists fill hundreds each day, but half of the prescription bottles are filled by machine.“Thirty tablets a second, 134 prescriptions an hour,” said Matthew Sherlock, a certified pharmacy technician at Eaton Apothecary.Not all medications are filled this way, but their machine, made by Parata Systems, can store and dispense more than 200 of the most popular prescriptions -- everything from antibiotics to blood pressure medications.Proponents of the technology said Parata’s machines can work faster and more accurately than most human pharmacists.“There's no way I could count 90 tablets in that amount of time,” said Sherlock.The Parata stores each medication in a separate cassette, which is bar coded and double-checked for safety. Operated by a computer, the machine’s robotic arm locates and picks up an empty prescription bottle, moves it to the correct cassette, dispenses the medication, puts on the safety cap, and then places the filled prescription bottle on a shelf, alphabetized according to the patient’s last name.In 2006, the Institute of Medicine estimated that 1.5 million people are harmed by getting the wrong medication each year.Ken Farbstein, a spokesman for Parata, said: “It's a huge problem. There are thousands of people who die from medication errors every year, and there are probably a lot more than that that we don't even know about.”In recent years NewsCenter 5 has reported on countless close calls with medication mixups. In fact, Team 5 Investigates learned that the CVS pharmacy chain will remain under state supervision until December 2009, after an outside safety review found room for improvement.Even proponents of the technology said machines will not soon -- or perhaps ever -- replace pharmacists. Instead, they said, it will allow them to spend more time on what matters most.“With this machine,” said Sherlock, “it allows you to have a lot more time to do consultations with patients.” Copyright 2008 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
