Content about Automation and Technology

When someone says “pharmacy automation and technology,” the image that most likely springs to mind is a pharmacy robot dispensing pills in a bottle or pharmacists managing operations or looking at patients’ medical records and electronic prescriptions with the latest pharmacy software.


But technology increasingly is migrating out from behind the counter as pharmacy retailers wield it not just to make the jobs of pharmacists and pharmacy techs easier, but to enhance the experience of the customer as well.


ST PETERSBURG, Fla. — A division of Catalina Marketing has introduced a healthcare solution designed to drive medication adherence and create healthier outcomes for patients.

Catalina Health said its Health Consumer Journey turns in-depth insights — gathered from its privacy protected, proprietary pharmacy databases — into personalized patient education that is clinically and emotionally relevant, and delivers it to health consumers where they need it most — right at the pharmacy point-of-care, the company said.

ARLINGTON, Va. — A majority of doctors in the United States now prescribe electronically, the country's largest e-prescribing network said Wednesday.

Surescripts announced that more than 52% of office-based doctors now use e-prescribing. The company presented the statistic in an online event featuring healthcare leaders and providers from across the country who gathered to receive the Safe-Rx Award, which Surescripts gives to the top 10 states based on their use of e-prescribing.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — A provider of software-based communication solutions for the healthcare realm will integrate one of its technologies into an online program that allows healthcare providers and caregivers to remotely monitor, record and track patients' health status and medication use on a daily basis.

Polyglot Systems said its Meducation technology will be implemented into the Connected for Life platform, which is operated by the Family Health Network.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Texas-based supermarket operator United Supermarkets has teamed up with FlavoRx to roll out the Fillmaster Plus dispensing technology at all of the chain's pharmacies.

Fillmaster Plus is a pharmacy device that automates drug reconstitution. How it works: When a prescription bottle is scanned using the Fillmaster Plus, the unit displays the medication's name, volume, strength and the amount of purified water it needs for reconstitution. This process reduces the risk of dispensing errors and reconstitution is completed in a matter of seconds, FlavoRx said.

Tens of billions of dollars have flooded into health IT in recent years, making that sector "as sexy an [investment] as social media and gaming," experts say.

Click here to download the exclusive DSN digital report, and find out what 15 leading pharmacy services companies — traditionalists and start-ups alike — are doing to bring new innovation to the HIT segment.

How many times have we heard it said that one day in America there will be a nationwide health information network that will link patients, providers and payers seamlessly, efficiently and securely, across a universal standardized system? It’s been the dream of health information technology strategists and engineers for decades. And yet, when you take a look at the healthcare experience of the typical American consumer, you’d be hard-pressed to find evidence that we are any closer to achieving that dream today than we were in the days of the Carter administration.


MONROVIA, Calif., and FORT WASHINGTON, Pa. — Stayhealthy and Adflow Health Networks have entered a partnership that is designed to expand the presence of biometric testing solutions and engage consumers in retail and nonretail markets.

LIVONIA, Mich. — Kroger is installing Avery Weigh-Tronix's tabletop pharmacy automation systems in its stores, Avery said.

WASHINGTON — A groundbreaking call center at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy that delivers medication therapy management services to patients with chronic illnesses utilizes pharmacy technicians certified by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board.

NOTTINGHAM, England — U.K.-based weight-loss program Nutracheck has introduced its Calorie Counter application for the iPhone, designed to scan bar codes of more than 10,000 products in the U.K. food database.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Wednesday announced that it ranked 29th on this year’s InformationWeek 500, a list of the top technology innovators in the United States. Additionally, Walgreens was the highest-ranked company in the retail/general merchandising category. The annual list was unveiled at last night’s InformationWeek 500 conference in California.