Pa. Hospital Automates Meds Dispensing

Somerset Hospital (Pa.) is implementing Alpharetta, Ga.-based McKesson’s PROmanager-Rx system to automate dispensing of tablets, capsules, and other oral solid medications that come in unit-dose, bar-coded form.

According to the company, the system will be utilized to automate dispensing for approximately 80 percent of its daily scheduled patient doses. PROmanager-Rx uses bar-code-driven robotics to scan every dose for safety and accuracy, and enables hospitals to reduce on-site medication repackaging requirements and save pharmacy labor and costs, it touts.

Somerset Hospital is a 150-bed hospital that offers a number of services, including medical oncology, a sleep lab, a dialysis center, a cardiac catheterization laboratory, occupational health, and community education. It is one of the largest employers in Somerset County.