ARxIUM, developer of pharmacy automation and workflow solutions, announced its new Pharmacy 4.0 initiative, an approach that for the first time will make the seamless convergence of clinical pharmacy, central production and automation advancements into cyber-physical systems.
Commonly found in automotive and other manufacturing industries, cyber-physical systems in the pharmacy can combine automation and interactive data exchange processes, among other aspects, to monitor and react in real-time to patient care and medication delivery demands.
ARxIUM Pharmacy 4.0, which applies Industry 4.0 concepts, focuses on system operability, information transparency, technical assistance and decentralized decision-making capabilities. It provides several benefits including improved medication safety, quality and output. Also, it aims to reduce pharmacy costs and waste and increases resource optimization, flexible medication production and other workflow efficiencies.
As pharmacies evolve and consolidate, they are displaying more characteristics of a manufacturing hub and becoming larger parts of the supply chain for preparing and delivering medications. In fact, pharmacists in certain market segments are becoming a more important part of the pharmacy value chain by implementing technologies commonly utilized in the manufacturing industry to address growing demands.
ARxIUM Pharmacy 4.0 is designed for health system and retail pharmacies that are centralizing and consolidating pharmacy operations, experiencing higher medication volume and/or implementing leading-edge solutions to serve as competitive differentiators. As pharmacies consolidate, the initiative utilizes industrial applications to eliminate duplication of equipment, medication inventory and more. It also provides increased pharmacy optimization and implementation of cGMP efforts.
The company’s recent release of its new RIVA system is an example of pharmacy technology that includes Pharmacy 4.0 attributes. The fully automated IV compounding system’s latest features provide enhanced workflow and upgraded analytic and data warehousing capabilities. ARxIUM also recently integrated its high-volume medication system, OptiFill-PPS, with the company’s pharmacy software, RxWorks, to provide connected workflow and inventory management capabilities for central fill pharmacies and processing facilities.
