Current state of the industry

A tablet counter has become a standard in more than 30,000 sites in 35 countries (as of 2010) (including many non-pharmacy sites, such as manufacturing facilities that use a counting machine as a check for small items).^[10]

During the 1990s through 2012, numerous new pharmacy automation products came to market. During this timeframe, counting technologies, robotics, workflow management software, and interactive voice recognition (IVR) systems for retail (both chain and independent), outpatient, government, and closed-door pharmacies (mail order and central fill) were all introduced. Additionally, the concept of scalability - of migrating from an entry-level product to the next level of automation (e.g., counting technology to robotics) - was introduced by Innovation, which launched the PharmASSIST product line at the NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference in 1997.

Between September 2005 and May 2007, an American company undertook major financial investment,^[11] and relocated from Stamford, Connecticut to Lake Forest, Illinois (a Chicago suburb). This move added extra space for their product research and development facility (R&D) and their operational expansion. It also allowed the opportunity to develop new advanced technology products that met the pharmacy’s needs for simple, accurate, and cost-effective ways to dispense prescriptions safely.^[12]

Technological changes and design improvements

Constant developments in Technology make the dispensing of prescription medications safer, more accurate and more efficient.

Computer interfaced model counter

In America, in 2008, “next-generation” counting and verification systems were introduced. Based on the counting technology employed in preceding models, machines like the KL20 included the ability to help the pharmacy operate more effectively. Equipped with a new computer interface to a pharmacy management system. It could now interface with workflow and inventory software. It also included several “checks and balances” to ensure the technician and pharmacist were dispensing the correct medication for each patient. This was a step forward to verify 100% all prescriptions that were dispensed by pharmacy staff.

Hands-free automated model counter

In America, in 2009, further advanced counters were designed that included the ability to dispense hands-free – a feature that many operators had desired. This allowed pharmacies to automate their most commonly dispensed medications via calibrated cassettes. Thirty of a pharmacy’s common medications would now be dispensed automatically. Another new model doubled that throughput and automated a pharmacy’s 60 most common medications via an enclosed robotic mechanism. Robotics had been employed in pharmacies since the mid-1990s, but machines such as the KL60 were the first to fully dispense and label filled patient vials in a comparatively tiny space (about nine square feet of floor space). These newer technologies allowed pharmacy staff to confidently dispense hundreds of prescriptions per day and still be able manage the many functions of a busy community pharmacy.