A Comparison of Accuracy and Medication Preparation time between Automated Medication Dispensing and Dispensing by Pharmaceutical Personnel at Udonthani Cancer Hospital

Abstract

Background: Inpatient medication dispensing is a complex process due to the wide variety of medications prescribed, which contributes to increased workload and a higher risk of dispensing errors. To address these challenges, an automated medication dispensing machine was implemented to improve efficiency and reduce errors. Objective: This study aimed to compare the rate of medication dispensing errors and the dispensing time between an automated medication dispensing machine and pharmaceutical personnel. Methods: A prospective experimental study was conducted between October and December 2024 to evaluate and compare the medication dispensing error rates and dispensing times between the automated system and pharmaceutical personnel. Results: A total of 545 prescriptions, comprising 1,498 individual medication items, were analyzed. The automated dispensing machine significantly reduced the average dispensing time to 6.77 seconds (SD ± 3.13), compared to 19.04 seconds (SD ± 6.79) by pharmaceutical personnel (p < .001). The machine recorded 5 dispensing errors (0.92%), all of which were technical. In contrast, pharmaceutical personnel recorded 13 errors (2.39%), primarily due to incorrect drug selection and quantity. Although the automated system exhibited a lower error rate, the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The automated medication dispensing machine was able to prepare medications in less time than pharmaceutical personnel. In terms of accuracy, the automated medication dispensing machine achieved higher accuracy than the pharmaceutical personnel; however, the difference was not statistically significant.