It’s no secret that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians experience a high level of stress on the job. They are responsible for making sure their patients get their medicine safely and accurately, but conditions in the pharmacy do not always facilitate the concentration needed to do their job to the best of their ability. Many pharmacists report that they feel pushed to meet nearly impossible metrics that emphasize quantity of patients over quality of service. Add in long hours and staff shortages and you have an overworked profession pushed to the point where errors are more likely to happen. Additional responsibilities like COVID vaccination and testing have only intensified stress put on a workforce already strained to its breaking point.
It’s clear that a change is needed in the pharmacy industry that will improve working conditions for pharmacy employees, therefore improving patient safety. Pharmacies across the country are now looking to pharmacy automation systems for a solution to save time and reduce errors. Pharmacy automation uses machines to automate tasks in the pharmacy workflow, freeing up pharmacy staff for important customer-focused duties.