Impact of an Automated Dispensing on Organization and Dispensing Costs of an Italian Surgical Unit

What is it about?

An automated dispensing system for narcotic drugs was introduced in a surgical unit to be compliant with the Italian narcotic drugs regulation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of this automated dispensing system on the incidence of registry errors and corrections and on staff time and hospital costs.

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Why is it important?

The work is based on direct observation of workload related to drug dispensing tasks, in a surgical unit of a reference cancer center in Italy. The comparison between workloads, registration errors, costs and time requirements before and after the implementation of the automated cabinet system provides an overall view of the impact this technology can have on dispensing-related activites in a similar hospital unit.