Authors (including presenting author) :
Yuen PYK (1), Wong MY (1), Fung PP (1)
Affiliation :
Department of Pharmacy, Caritas Medical Centre.
Introduction :
To cope with the heavy dispensing workload in a hospital out-patient pharmacy, Express Dispensing System (EDS) was adopted to split dispensing procedures into prescription vetting, drug picking, drug assembling, checking and issuing. Existing drug assembling step of EDS involved supporting staff who scan the drug labels, read the prescription number and manually sort the picked drugs into the corresponding baskets. This process is highly manual and inherently error-prone especially during the peak hours, posing risk of delivering drug to wrong patients. During drug issuing, even though system is in place for verifying patient identity by checking patient’s name and numbered ticket, environmental factors may still contribute to retrieval of wrong basket of medications.
Objectives :
Through the application of Drug Order Assembly System (DOAS), we aim to:
1. Enhance medication safety by increasing accuracy of drug assembling and reducing the risk of retrieving wrong basket of drug;
2. Improve operation efficiency by real-time workflow monitoring and facilitating drug basket retrieval during issuing.
Methodology :
DOAS utilizes Internet of Things (IoT) technologies including Bluetooth, radio-frequency identification (RFID), weight sensor and e-ink display on smart drug baskets and assembling panels. Visual identification on prescription number during assembling has been replaced by guiding lights on smart panel. A ‘drop to light’ feature was adopted upon scanning the drug packets. Weight sensor embedded on the panel can reassure accuracy in assembling and notify users instantly for errors. The workflow is now continuously monitored via the Smart Dashboard Panel and would alert pharmacy staff to follow up timely when abnormalities detected. During drug issue, upon scanning patient’s numbered ticket, guiding light on smart basket would blink, ensuring retrieval of correct medication basket for the patient.
Result & Outcome :
With the implementation of DOAS on prescription with more than one item (normal queue), around 1,000 prescriptions involving more than 6,400 drug items were handled on daily average. Zero assembling error involving DOAS was recorded while patient waiting time was similar to pre-implementation. Integration of DOAS to EDS successfully minimized the risk of wrong assembling and retrieval of wrong medication baskets during issuing.
