Exploring Automation: A Step-by-Step Approach to Modern Pharmacy Operations

March 11, 2025

The journey toward automation in a pharmacy is rarely an overnight event. It’s often a gradual, evolving process marked by smaller, incremental steps. Pharmacies may initially try various tools or software to streamline specific parts of their operations. However, these partial solutions often reveal their limitations, leading to the realization that a more comprehensive, fully automated system is necessary. This step-by-step approach is crucial for understanding the unique needs of the pharmacy and finding the right long-term solution.

The initial challenges of manual labor often prompt the exploration of automation. As one pharmacy worker described, “It was stacks and stacks of labels to fill. Come in every morning and there’d be a stack, six inches thick just for one facility. And it was divvying up labels and to every part of the room. And so this entire room would have people all over it. We used to have 20 people in this room just hand packing all day. It was chaos.” This kind of environment highlights the need for a more efficient and less labor-intensive approach.

The decision to move to full automation is driven by several key factors:

• Improved Patient Safety: Automation significantly reduces the risk of errors in medication packaging. By ensuring patients receive the correct medications in the right dosages, pharmacies can enhance patient safety. As noted, “Improved Patient Safety – Improved accuracy – Reduced chances for mistakes – Reduced handling.”
• Increased Efficiency: Automated systems can process a significantly higher volume of prescriptions in less time. This frees up valuable staff time for other critical tasks. “Staff multiplier – Freeing up staff from repetitive tasks allows them to focus on more critical functions such as customer care – Your good people are able to get more done.”
• Scalability: As a pharmacy grows, automated systems can scale to meet increased demand without requiring a proportional increase in staff. This ensures the pharmacy can handle growth efficiently. “Scalability – Adjust capacity without adding or reducing staff – Add components to extend functionality and capacity.”

This exploratory phase is vital. It allows pharmacies to test different approaches, understand their workflows, and ultimately make an informed decision about the type of automation that best suits their needs.