Robot reduces risks at pharmacy

Machine makes dispensing medicine easier

Monday, March 26, 2007

By JOHN R. PULLIAM

The Register-Mail

GALESBURG - There's a new employee at Turner Prescription Center who never takes a lunch break and never complains.

Before anyone becomes concerned about an exploited worker, "Robie," as he has been dubbed by Jim Turner, the owner of the pharmacy, is a robot.

Robie does not look like a robot from a science fiction movie. In fact, "he" is a large, metal cabinet. About half the machine consists of rows where "cells" of medicine are stored in an area is behind glass doors. To the right is where labels are made and the conveyor where the vials of medicine come out.

Turner, a licensed pharmacist, said the SP 100 Robotic Prescription Dispensing System from ScriptPro has space to hold cells containing the top 85 prescription drugs filled at the pharmacy. Turner said Robie can be used to fill about 40 percent of the prescriptions ordered at Turner's.

Turner's four pharmacy techs - Colleen Dugan, Glenda Schmidt, Amy Brady and Torrie Lockwood - play a big part in the operation of the busy pharmacy, but Dugan is the main tech giving the robot instructions on filling prescriptions through a computer. Turner joked he gave the robot a man's name because there are so many women working in the pharmacy.

Once the robot receives the information, it scans the various bar codes, which tell it which cell its arm should go to. The arm also picks out a vial of the proper size and counts out the correct number of pills, then moves into place to put the vial onto a small conveyer belt and puts on the proper label. A computer screen above the conveyer shows pictures of the pills and any numbers or scoring on the medicine. A human employee checks the pills in the vial to make sure they match up with the pictures on the screen.

The label the machine prints also has a picture, with the numbers on it, so the customer also can check to make sure the prescription is correct. Turner said about four checks are made in the pharmacy to make sure the customer receives the proper medicine.

Turner said he invested $150,000 to buy the machine because of the changing nature of pharmacies. He has had it since October and already is considering buying a larger model.

"The reason we got the machine, the pharmacy business has become a lot of stress," Turner said. A certain prescription may be rejected because of Medicare or the insurance company, for instance. If the pharmacist has to count pills, find medicine, etc., plus field phone calls from doctors, the amount of time to talk with customers is reduced and the chance of errors is increased.

"When you have all the stressors, all the phone calls, it's easy to become distracted and make a mistake," Turner said. "If you have a medicine question or an insurance question, we can take those extra few moments with the patients. ... The bottom line is really taking care of the patient."

Turner said the SP 100 "is an awesome machine in a lot of ways."

For instance, it shows how many pills are in the drug store's inventory and a "low" number. When the inventory drops below that number, it is time to reorder. Robie also generates reports showing which drugs move the fastest.

Turner said part of the reason for buying the SP 100 is the many safety features to ensure prescriptions are filled properly.

"The product when it goes out needs to be absolutely perfect," Turner said. "That's with the directions, with the count, with the label, everything."

Robie even knows which patients do not want child safety caps on their medicine bottles.

"We have many elderly people that come in here and they can't get the safety locks off," Turner said. "The robot knows what patients those are."