To coincide with the opening of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) summer meeting, Health Robotics has decided to release its answers to the ASHP Intravenous (IV) Robotics Vendor Survey.
Many Health Robotics customers shared their answers with the company individually. However, Health Robotics has decided to post its own answers publicly to stimulate discussion among members of the pharmacy community.
ASHP offers leadership training to health-system pharmacists through its Pharmacy Leadership Institute, the Leadership Resource Center and the Leadership Speaker's Bureau. The organization also encourages cutting edge research through its grant program, its Research Boot Camp and its Web-based research resources.
Health Robotics offers a number of products that automate drug distribution functions such as labeling and capping. For instance, its IV Station compounds, caps and labels commercially-available soft caps and syringes for a variety of medications. The robotic station can be used in both pharmacy and direct care environments.
Robotic pharmacy assistants are most commonly referred to as "automatic dispensing systems" (ADS). Essentially, they count tablets or capsules, or they quantify liquid IV drugs. After verifying the labeling, the robots cap the product and get it ready for patient distribution. Some larger robots can hold up to 256 cells, and pharmacies can potentially package 80 percent of their product with robotic assistance.
Typically, an ADS is run through a pharmacy management system to perform functions like clinical checks, drug verification, quality assurance and other workflow functions. Ideally, a robot improves safety and frees up pharmacists to spend time counseling patients. For example, an ADS could be programmed to fill prescriptions before the pharmacy opens for business.
ADS technology isn't perfect. Healthcare personnel at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina discovered Bacillus in their automated robot's washing station and the associated tubing during an inspection last year. Therefore, any medical personnel using an ADS should routinely screen the medications or IV bags that it puts out.
Health Robotics released a statement offering a link to its IV Robotics Vendor Survey answers. However, at the time this article was published, the link was inactive.
Edited by
Rachel Ramsey
