SYNMED
MICHEL GUERRA, VICE PRESIDENT, SALES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, EUROPE AT SYNERGY MEDICAL DISCUSSES HOW AUTOMATION COULD EMBED SAFER DISPENSING OF MULTIPLE MEDICATIONS IN PHARMACIES
HOW CAN AUTOMATION MAKE DISPENSING MEDICATION SAFER?
With over 100 million prescription medications dispensed in Scotland annually1
and more patients using
monitored dosage systems (MDS), pharmacies are struggling to keep pace with MDS production. During the last quarter of 2017, dispensing errors involving MDS, accounted for 13 per cent of reported medication errors in Scotland2
, which has left many
pharmacies with the stark choice of restricting the number of MDS they can safely deliver or fi nding resource- effi cient ways of scaling up.
One method of scaling up and standardising dispensing is to use automation. The SynMed® system uses the state-of-the-art Pick and Place technology.
This technology uses seven pipettes which lift medication from containers and places them in the seven corresponding rows in a blister pack. The pipettes are individually activated to select only specifi c medication prescribed for each day and a detection sensor ensures the prescription is accurately adhered
to at all times. Using this system, up to 400 different medications can be dispensed from containers which can be recalibrated on-site to account for medication fragility, weight, size and shape.
The large number of containers that can be utilised with this technology reduces manual activities and increases accuracy.
The pick and place concept produces fewer errors at source.
The SynMed System has an error rate with jumpers (medication moving to the next blister) of 2 in 1,000 and these are detected at the count verifi cation stage before the pack is sealed. The technician can correct the error thus saving time and avoiding work fl ow interruption.
Using pharmacy automation such as the SynMed System which can dispense 98 per cent of medications for MDS with 99.8 per cent accuracy at a rate of over 1000 packs per shift per week, will ensure dispensing multiple medications is less error prone and therefore, signifi cantly safer and faster. •
AUTOMATION
REFERENCES
1. Prescribing & Medicines:Prescription Cost Analysis Financial Year – 2015/16. Accessed on Friday February 23rd 2018. Available at:
https://www.isdscotland.org/ Health-Topics/Prescribing-and-Medicines/ Publications/2016-07-12/2016-07-12- Prescribing-PrescriptionCostAnalysis-Report. pdf
2. Scotland - Patient safety quarterly report: November 2017 – January 2018
Accessed on Friday February 23rd 2018. Available at:
https://www.npa.co.uk/ wpcontent/uploads/2018/02/Scotland-NPA- patient-safety-report-Nov17-Jan18.pdf
EMBRACE AUTOMATION WITH SynMed®
AN AUTOMATED DISPENSING SYSTEM FOR MULTI-DOSE BLISTER PACKS
Access to a secure growth
SUPERIOR PICK AND PLACE TECHNOLOGY ULTRA Precise - ULTRA Safe
Please communicate with us for more information
SYNMEDRX.COM 0796 039 6770
Allows one technician to safely prepare medication for 1,000 blister packs per week and more
• More than 400 dispensing containers easy to calibrate on site • Personalized colour-coded medication delivery system • Compatible with most blister packs
• Filling up to 12 blister packs at a time with precision • More than 10 years of experience
16 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST
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