Investing in automation may seem like a big undertaking, but it’s an investment that can pay off.
SynMed® from Synergy Medical, an automated medication dispensing system for both single-dose and multi-dose blister cards, offers independent pharmacies labor savings right away, including reducing technician time by a factor of five and cutting pharmacist verification time in half for pharmacies manually filling single-dose and multi-dose packaging.
“SynMed allows our users to play offense and defense,” said Rob Anderson, director of sales western, USA at Synergy Medical. “They play defense in terms of cutting costs to dispense their medications more efficiently and accurately. On offense, they can safely grow their business without adding labor costs.”
Efficiency, accuracy and speed
SynMed can improve the efficiency, accuracy and speed of dispensing. The machine, which holds more than 400 drugs that cover 98 percent of medications dispensed in blister packs, integrates with your pharmacy’s computer system to manage all operations from prescription reception to preparing the blister cards. It selects, counts and places medications in the blisters at a continuous rate of 55 doses per minute.
SynMed is meant for any patient who needs help managing multiple medications, and especially those in home health, assisted living, retirement communities, nursing homes, group homes, hospice and long term care.
SynMed also offers the flexibility of using the packaging of your choice. “Right now, we work with 32 different card types,” Anderson said. “A lot of times pharmacies don’t want to automate because they don’t want to change their packaging type. With SynMed, you don’t have to.”
The machine also provides more accurate and precise dispensing, eliminating the risk of human error.
Upkeep of the machine requires minimal effort from the pharmacy. A pharmacy technician simply needs to replenish containers. Synergy Medical provides pharmacies with up to four visits per year to perform preventative maintenance.
The question of cost
The SynMed system requires an initial investment, but can save pharmacies labor costs in the long run.
“SynMed is a way to reduce costs, achieve a high level of dispensing accuracy, and it’s a safe way to grow your business,” Anderson said.
And, you can now devote time spent dispensing to patient care and customer service. “Pharmacists are going to see their roles increase in the day-to-day operations of the business,” Anderson said. “Whether it’s Medication Therapy Management (MTM), immunizations, travel medicine or working with care providers, there are a lot of opportunities that pharmacies can now start taking advantage of to help drive revenue. Meanwhile, SynMed can package and organize their prescriptions in the background.”
A SynMed system fixes labor costs, so you can be more profitable, Anderson said. “In addition, there is a tax incentive this year called the Section 179 Tax Incentive that may allow a pharmacy to write off the full cost of the system in 2016,” he said.
When you’re filling 200 blister packs a week, that’s the volume when you want to consider automation, Anderson said. “At that point, you’re starting to pull in multiple technicians to fill your blister cards and using more resources. The SynMed system allows you to have one technician producing over 1,000 cards a week,” he said.
Automation and adherence
An aging population is growing the demand for medication adherence, and automation can help pharmacies keep up. “SynMed is both a medication synchronization and medication adherence strategy for pharmacies to drive Star Ratings and attract new patients,” Anderson said. “SynMed automation will help position any pharmacy to navigate these future demands and opportunities successfully.”
The SynMed system produces a unique compliance label on the blister card with the patient’s picture and drug images, which enables your pharmacy to provide a personalized way for patients to take their medications, and improve their adherence.
“It’s a way to make sure your patients are taking their meds, so you’re managing that and making it easier for them to be compliant,” he said. “And this improves your Star Ratings.”
Synergy Medical has installed more than 230 medication dispensing systems worldwide.
Fears of Automation—Answered
Fear of change
Although any change comes with some challenges, don’t let fear of change make your business fall behind. Investing in automation can enable you to dispense more accurately and efficiently.
Fear of job loss
Pharmacy employees may worry that automation will replace them, but you can reallocate those employees to handle more value-added tasks while the robot handles dispensing. “That person was hired not because they can count fast, but because they’re an asset to the business,” said Rob Anderson, director of sales western USA at Synergy Medical.
Fear of expense
The cost to purchase a machine may present an initial price tag, but don’t overlook the return on investment. You can save on labor costs and allocate those employees who previously dispensed prescriptions to complete other value- added tasks.
