Question

As the administrator of a small hospital, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of introducing a centralized computerized hospital pharmacy system using robots?

Answer 1

At any point Robots are used in pharmacy to fasten the process .As a adminstrator of a small hospital there are both advantages and disadvantages associated with use of robots for pharmacy . mostly the robots are place for the purpose of dispensing of the drug .In which the indents from the wards are deeded into this robot machine which stores all the medication and dispenses as per the indents .Advantages

1)Time Saving:Since most of the pharmacy are understaffed leading to more time consumption for dispensing of medication.Robots being machines with a set program can work faster with minimal need of an individual .

2)Prevents dispensing errors :Certain medications which are look alike and sound alike can be mistakenly dispensed by a human pharmacist but Robots owing to the technicality and use of barcodes for each medication reduces the errors this leading to safe medication.

3)reduces the manpower:With the use of robots in pharmacy it substantially decreases the no of human staffs working in the pharmacy leading to better efficacy.the manpower can be used for explanation of the drug to patients

4)better storage facilities:These robots are machines which store medication in the machine itself this leads to safe storage and can avoid drug abuse and prilfilage .

Disadvantages of the robot system

1) Technical Errors:As these robots are technically programmed there are chances that it can go wrong or faulty leading to wrong dispensing of medication and affecting the safety of patients.the medication are dispensed without any human recheck

2)Maintainance Cost:These machines come with a huge cost and in case of break down it needs a huge expense to be repaired .which increases the overall expenditure of the hospital .

3)Not all the staffs would be comfortable using a robots .because of the technicalities and complex soft ware .

4)Dependent on a soft ware :Any software can shut abruptly thus causing the machine to stop suddenly and cause delays in pharmacy services

So as an adminstrator of small hospital I would suggest to do a cost benefit analysis and decide do we really have to go for a computerized pharmacy Robot system..