OBJECTIVES: - To describe trends in the utilization of medication distribution automation systems in hospital pharmacies in the US in the period 1975-2011
- To describe trends in the number of studies assessing the costs and benefits associated with the automation of medication distribution systems published in journal articles in the period 1975-2011.
METHODS: Data were collected from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) national surveys of pharmacy practice in hospital settings. A systematic review identified published studies assessing the cost and benefits associated with the utilization of medication distribution automation systems. We used descriptive analysis to present trends in the utilization of automation in medication distribution systems in the US hospitals using the information derived from the ASHP surveys. Descriptive analysis was also used to describe the trends in the quantity and quality of the economic studies published in journal articles. We also assessed the correlation between the number of studies published in the economic literature about medication distribution automation technologies and the percentage of the hospitals reporting the use of each technology.
RESULTS: At the end of 1990, the majority of hospitals used unit dose dispensing with the assistance of computerized systems. In the 2000s, hospitals started to use decentralized distribution technologies and robotics for supporting medication dispensing activities. The implementation of new pharmacy technologies in the hospital was not preceded by the publication of peer-reviewed journal articles confirming the benefits and associated costs of the technologies.
CONCLUSIONS: US hospitals have experienced important changes in their drug distribution systems that have affected the dispensing of drugs. There is a need for better evidence of the costs and benefits of new technologies used in hospital drug distribution systems that could be used to inform decisions about the implementation of those technologies.
