Robot Now Features Automatic Restocking

PillPick's automatic restocking feature has been improved, according to manufacturer Swisslog. PillPick is a high-density, robotic warehouse for automated packaging, storing, and dispensing of bar-coded unit-dose medications in the hospital. The new feature automatically restocks unused unit doses into the automated storage module.

The process commences when bulk pharmaceutical items are packaged and bar-coded into individual unit doses. The doses are stored for future use and dispensing to patient floors. PillPick can hold up to 44,000 unit doses and >4000 unique medications. Stored drugs are ready for on-demand automatic dispensing to cart fill, first dose, or cabinet restocking.

Any returned medications are automatically restocked into the PillPick system through a secured window on the storage module. The medications are then stored until they are needed again for dispensing. The system also includes a unique identifier for each unit dose that enables tracking of each medication. This tracking allows PillPick to automatically credit a patient for unused medications and creates an auditable trail for each individual dose.