SAUDI ARABIA – An automated medication dispensing device was installed at King Salman Armed Forces Hospital based in the northwestern part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Situated in the Tabuk Province, King Salman Armed Forces Hospital is set to revolutionize the way medications are distributed as well as reduce medication dispensing errors.
This installation represents a significant milestone for the General Directorate for Health Services at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense (MODHS), which is represented by the King Salman Armed Forces Hospital in the Northwestern region.
In a press statement, the Director of the Pharmacy Department at King Salman Armed Forces Hospital Olayan Alatawy, said: “King Salman Hospital has installed the world’s first automated medication dispensing machine.”
The automated medication dispensing device installed at King Salman Armed Forces Hospital has a storage capacity ranging from 102 to 700 medical prescriptions.
As a result, the machine is capable of filling prescriptions containing multiple medications, while ensuring extremely high protection against damage, tampering, or theft.
Integrating new technologies into the Saudi healthcare system is very important for the General Directorate of Health Affairs to ensure that patients are provided with world-class healthcare.
With the automated medication dispensing machine, patients from the northwestern part of Saudi Arabia and neighboring regions will be able to get prescription medicines without requiring a hospital visit.
The machine consists of a workstation that handles the prescription barcode, a screen for interaction with the beneficiaries, a specialized operating system, and a messaging platform that notifies beneficiaries while the medication is being packaged ahead of delivery.
Additionally, the state-of-the-art device provides statistical data on the dispensed medications to the beneficiaries on a daily, monthly, or yearly basis.
The beneficiary will first scan the barcode attached to the prescription medicines, afterward the person will fill in the required information and select the nearest dispensing machine to their preferred location.
Explaining the steps for obtaining the medication through the machine, Alatawy pointed out: “Beneficiaries shall submit requests to get their prescriptions filled by scanning the barcode attached to the prescription.”
Subsequently, a licensed pharmacist will verify the beneficiary’s prescription data through an electronic system thus helping to prevent medication dispensing errors from reoccurring.
Once the prescription request is accepted by the pharmacist, a text message is sent to the beneficiary with a code, the location of the device, and the status of the request.
“Beneficiaries can then get their medication within 48 hours from the machine by filling in the required data and entering the verification code sent to their phone,” outlined Alatawy.
Moreover, the installation of the automated medication dispensing device at King Salman Armed Forces Hospital adds to Saudi Arabia’s impressive track record of technological innovations.
It comes as part of a groundbreaking global initiative aimed at ensuring that the medication safety principles are applied at the heart of its business in all public and private healthcare facilities.
In March 2017, the World Health Organization launched its third Global Patient Safety Challenge with the ambitious goal of reducing avoidable medication-related harm by 50% worldwide over the next 5 years.
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