ABSTRACT
In the era of value-based purchasing and HCAHPS, the fundamental issue that hospitals face is how to stretch their resources to improve outcomes and the patient experience while containing and ultimately reducing costs. Pharmacy automation is helping hospitals to improve patient outcomes and reduce expenses for the hospital over the long term. By bringing automation into the hospital environment, the pharmacy staff are unleashed from the task of counting pills in the hospital basement, and their professional expertise can be repurposed so they can contribute to clinical and service-oriented operations. Technology changes in pharmacy automation are rapidly transforming the functions of pharmacy from the old-style, cart-fill operation and dispensing of drugs from the pharmacy to a new, highly efficient model. As hospitals adopt the following smart technologies, they are saving time and space, and increasing their functionality and revenue stream.