A key benefit is lowering dispensing error rates to less than 0.1 per cent, as automation improves control of core processes. Automated dispensing machines can cut down on the need for the pharmacist or technician to move away from the script reception area: dispensed items can be delivered to the pharmacist at the dispensing point either by having the machine
behind the pharmacist, or via a chute. The pharmacist can then spend more time with the patient, changing the focus from shifting products to a service-orientated model.

Data from Rowa customers indicates that the ratio of patient stay in a pharmacy to time dedicated to them can go from three minutes : 40 seconds in an ordinary pharmacy, to two-and-a-half minutes : two minutes after automation.

Machines can also be position and posture optimised, for right-handed and left-handed staff preferences.

Rowa’s data from across its European customer base highlights additional outcomes, such as:

• Average time spent putting stock away can fall from five to one hour a day 
• Better stock control, with product availability increasing from 87-92 per cent to 92-95 per cent 
• Improved storage efficiency, with the number of packs per product increasing from 2-3 to 12-15
• Expiry date losses and returns can decrease from 2 per cent of stock to 1 per cent
• Processing cost per pack can decrease from €2.50 to €1.50.

A case history cited by Willach following installation of a CONCIS B3 robot with a capacity of 9,200 packs for around 850 lines, combined with a store refit, demonstrated a greater than 50 per cent reduction in stock holding. And a 43m² pharmacy (dispensary 25m², front shop 18m²) that installed a CONSIS B2 robot with a 3.3m² footprint and capacity of 7,520 packs for 850 lines, was able to handle over 12,000 prescriptions a month.