Posted on 04/26/2008 6:15:56 PM PDT by Flavius
CHICAGO, April 26 (UPI) -- U.S. hospitals are starting to use pharmacy robots designed to eliminate life-threatening medication errors, Loyola University Hospital says.
The Chicago hospital said it is the first in the Midwest to use the PillPick, a two-armed robot that places single doses of medication in small plastic bags marked with a bar code to identify the drug. A nurse can scan the bar code on the medication bag along with the bar code on the patient's wrist band. The computer will sound an alert and an pop-up warning will appear if it is the wrong drug or the wrong dose.
The $1.5 million robot is manufactured by SwissLog Healthcare Solutions.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
I’ve often wondered why pharmacies don’t have automated perscriptions refilling.
And what will happen if the robot is loaded with the wrong med/dose?
The time honored method of medication administration is best: the nurse that GIVES the med, verifies:
Right Patient
Right Medication
Right Dose
Right Time
Right Route
These are known as the “Five Rights of Medication Administration”, and when adhered to, functions flawlessly.
Not to worry. Soon the robots will be replaced by illegal immigrants.
1.5 million? Leave it to the medical establishment to pad costs.
So the robots will be able to eliminate the people and then they won't have to worry about it.
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