Swisslog automates hospital pharmacy in US
The Middlesex Hospital in Connecticut, US is to install a Swisslog BoxPicker automated storage and retrieval device, ATP high speed packager and inventory management software (IMS), which provides a complete solution for pharmacy inventory management, packaging and storage. The eight-foot, dual temperature BoxPicker will serve as a clean pass-through between the hospital cleanroom and the rest of its pharmacy in compliance with US Pharmacopeia (USP) Chapter 797.
The BoxPicker is said to be an ideal solution as it incorporates an automated storage and retrieval system that serves both the central pharmacy as its primary storage and bulk medication warehouse, while at the same time providing secure access to all supplies and medications needed by the cleanroom. Because the BoxPicker unit is recessed into the pharmacy’s anteroom, the non-medical equipment assembly provides the cleanroom users with access to drugs and supplies through secure access drawers, which automatically open when specific items are requested through the system. The system is completely enclosed and flush with the anteroom wall to ensure ISO compliance.
When the operator fills a bin with drugs or supplies, the BoxPicker automatically stores it on shelving inside a secure enclosure. All transactions begin and end through a locked drawer. Information on the contents of each bin is entered at a workstation using a keyboard or a barcode scanner. A drawer is unlocked presenting the user with a bin for the storage of the new item. When the drawer is closed, the bin is moved to a location for storage until the item is requested. Retrieval is the same process in reverse.
The BoxPicker allows all types of supplies and drugs to be retrieved without having to leave the anteroom or de-gown. Workstations can be installed on the cleanroom side for access only by those inside the anteroom, while the other side is accessible to an open corridor or central pharmacy.
The system also allows drugs to be identified electronically, providing inventory tracking, access and replenishment.
Noreen Gherard, director of pharmacy at the hospital, says she evaluated three different systems for pharmacy inventory management and selected the BoxPicker because it was a safer technology.
Both the BoxPicker and ATP Packager interface directly with Swisslog's IMS, which comprises several modules including inventory ordering, receiving and reporting, allowing Middlesex Hospital's pharmacy to maintain a perpetual inventory, thus reducing inventory costs.
The installation will be completed during the first quarter of 2010. www.swisslog.com