Key Takeaways

Pharmacy automation is essential for hospitals, surgery centers and other providers that want to expedite service and free resources.
Options like Capsa Healthcare, Omnicell, Inc., ScriptPro LLC and Pearson Medical Technologies offer diverse and competitive options.
Automation options include innovations like dispensing machines, packaging robotics, data-driven software and more.
While automation will become more common in pharmacies, it will not replace the essential human component.

Your pharmacy and its workers should be able to serve customers without resistance in their working environment. Automation helps them engage with citizens with patience and care, building better relationships. Often, traditional pharmacies are hindered by antiquated processes and technologies that slow them down, causing people to wait for essential medications. What are the best pharmacy automation solutions for hospitals?

1. Capsa Healthcare

Screenshot: Capsa Healthcare

Capsa Healthcare offers many brands across its catalog, including Trio, Kirby Lester, Robopharma and many others. The company has specialized in workflow management for pharmacies and hospitals since the late 1950s, representing years of adaptability and dedication to innovation. Its medication management resources include pill counters and automated will-call tools and more for easy-to-verify prescription processing. The defining features of Capsa Healthcare include:

Automated dispensing cabinets
Central fill automation
High-volume counting cells
Medication and computer carts

2. Omnicell, Inc.

Screenshot: Omnicell

Omnicell has become a leader in supply systems and automated pharmacy management since its inception in 1992. It has fully embraced the next era of technologies, empowering its line of products with artificial intelligence (AI), cloud infrastructure and data analytics. All its products support higher rates of medical compliance, improving efficiency in the process. Its key offerings include:

Central pharmacy robotics
Automated medication packaging
Supply chain optimization
Analytics software

3. ScriptPro

Screenshot: ScriptPro

ScriptPro has experience in pharmacy chains, hospitals and broader healthcare systems. The brand values both customer attentiveness and technological advancement equally, as reflected in its core values. The pride of ScriptPro is its disruptive prescription dispensing system with a modular focus, which has empowered community pharmacies everywhere. Its line is extensive, covering over 200 automation and oversight tools. Its catalog embraces:

Robotics-enabled prescription filling
Pharmacy management software
Automated inventory management
Telepharmacy solutions

4. Pearson Medical Technologies

Screenshot (from YouTube video): YouTube

Pearson Medical Technologies has changed the game regarding automated drug packaging and inspections. It leverages data to promote accurate filling and assembly, providing a compliance-forward and sanitary environment for everyone. It has mastered the art of barcode verification, making its products accessible and easy to learn. Key features of this provider include:

Pill counters and sensors
Automated tabletop packaging equipment
Barcode and label auditing
Automated heat pressing

Methodology for Choosing the Best Automation Solutions

These enterprises are the most competitive because they embrace the essential qualities of market leaders and ethical services. The critical characteristics include:

High integration of hospital IT: Considers cybersecurity and data privacy
Great support and customer service: Provides timely, compassionate and thorough support for automation technologies
Compliance certification: Has multiple third-party regulatory certifications, including ISO 90001 and 27001, in addition to healthcare-specific requirements
Dedication to innovation: Invests in research and development in next-generation tools, like artificial intelligence and machine learning

Providers at a Glance

These are the best pharmacy automation solutions for hospitals, comparing their unique value propositions and years of experience.

Company	Core Focus	Automation Focus	Established
Capsa Healthcare	Workflow enhancements	Central fill and point-of-care	1958
Omnicell, Inc.	Analytics	Dispensing and robotics	1992
ScriptPro	Modularity	Dispensing tools	1994
Pearson Medical Technologies	Barcode technologies	Packaging and counting	1966

FAQ About Pharmacy Automation

These are the most common questions you may have regarding these tools and their implementation. Learn about how automation impacts your future in more detail.

1. What Are Current Trends in Pharmacy Automation?

As pharmacies adopt automation solutions, they can expect advancements to embrace other disruptive technologies, including robotics, AI, advanced telemedicine and data-driven software solutions embedded with more robust features. Some of these improvements may come in the form of updates to already implemented technologies, while others may require upgrades or replacements to harness more modern capabilities.

2. Is AI Replacing Pharmacists?

No. Pharmacists still remain an essential part of the industry. Automation solutions like AI aim to augment the capabilities of workforces, thereby reducing their time spent on repetitive or unstimulating tasks. It opens their schedules to interact and develop more connections with customers and participate in more high-value, nuanced assignments, such as finding ways to build trust with the public in advertisements or navigating emotionally charged interactions.

3. Are Pharmacies Going to Be Automated?

They will embrace partial automation, keeping a human-in-the-loop structure. While a dispenser could fill medicines without intervention, you will still be responsible for executing quality control and delivering empathetic customer service. The aspects of the work that will undergo automation will involve tedious tasks or data-collection responsibilities.