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INTEGRATION OF A ROBOT INTO THE EXISTING WORKFLOW OF THE CYTOSTATIC DRUGS DEPARTMENT IN A HOSPITAL PHARMACY (submitted in 2019)

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European Statement

Production and Compounding

Author(s)

Swantje Eisend, Herwig Heindl, Karen Tiede, Sven Jirschitzka

Why was it done?

Definition of an organisational structure for the best implementation of APOTECAchemo technology in the UKSH hospital pharmacy workflow

What was done?

The implementation of robotic systems for aseptic compounding cytotoxic drugs requires a specific workflow organisation in the hospital pharmacy to ensure an optimal combination of manual and automated production as well as the effective use of the technology. Since 2017, the APOTECAchemo robot has been installed in the hospital pharmacy and one of the first objectives was to create an organisational structure that would allow successful integration of the system into the existing workflow of the cytostatic department.

How was it done?

The pharmacy has carried out an analysis to identify the active substances that can best be transferred into automated production based on 4 main points: • Pharmaceutical form of the active ingredients: liquid or powder; • Average of vials needed for the compounding of one preparation for each active ingredient; • Average of ml of medication required for the compounding of a preparation associated with each specific active ingredient; • Robot compounding speed. In addition, the pharmacy has also tried to identify the optimal organisation of personnel and daily workflow for the automated compounding. The effectiveness of these measures and the work organisation defined have been evaluated through an intensive compounding week in April 2018.

What has been achieved?

The analysis of the active substances and the data collected during the “Robotic Intensive Week” showed the following results: • 42% of the total production was operated by APOTECAchemo; • 87% of active ingredients was handled by APOTECAchemo; • average of 60 preparations per day (with an actual working time of 5 hours);  average of 12 preparations per hour.

What next?

The study shows that the planning and organisation of the workflow plays a central role in the implementation of a robot solution in a hospital pharmacy. Through the work carried out, the hospital pharmacy has successfully integrated automated and manual production.

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