For years, the same situation kept recurring on the inpatient units: a medication that was not available when it was needed.
The cycle started with a unit dose cart that the Hospital Pharmacy Department prepared for the next 24 hours. But the reality of a nursing unit changes constantly: admissions, discharges, treatment changes and new prescriptions can come up at any time. When a medication was missing, it had to be requested; when it was no longer needed, it went back to the hospital pharmacy.
From preparing in advance to dispensing when needed
As part of the Seshat project, driven by the Catalan Health Service (Servei Català de la Salut), the hospital chose to decentralize medication management on its inpatient units and in the operating room, linking it directly to electronic prescribing.
The new cycle relies on APD’s Athos™ Dosys automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) and uniBOT systems. Instead of preparing the expected medication in advance, medication is dispensed based on the prescription, at the moment it is needed.
The advantages of an automated cycle
- Greater immediate availability: medication is on the unit when the patient needs it, reducing delays between prescription and administration.
- Fewer urgent requests: the nursing unit no longer depends on one-off requests to the hospital pharmacy to cover last-minute changes.
- Fewer returns: dispensing according to the actual prescription keeps unused medication from going back to the Hospital Pharmacy Department.
- More time for nursing staff: fewer interruptions and less time spent locating or managing medication.
- Greater traceability and patient safety: integration with electronic prescribing provides control over every dispensing transaction.
Because automation is not just about adding technology. It is about designing a medication management cycle that can respond to the real needs of each unit and help ensure that the right medication is available when it is needed.
Learn about it firsthand at the 71st SEFH Congress
Marlene Álvarez, Head of the Hospital Pharmacy Department at Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, will share all the details of the project, the processes implemented and the results achieved at the 71st Congress of the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH), in Gran Canaria.
We invite you to join us at the Speaker Corner and to visit APD at booth 27 to learn about the project firsthand.
- Speaker Corner A: Thursday, October 22, 9:30 a.m.
- Booth 27 – APD
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