Issue 12 • 2011
news Automating Pharmacies
Community edition
Happy New Year from all at ARX In this issue: We’ve reached that festive time of year again, where mulled wine and christmas dinners have been enjoyed, gym memberships are purchased, and the antacids and weight loss tablets fly off the shelves! This festive edition of ARX news is jam packed full of interesting news and facts about automation, and how we can help you to store such medicine packs with the upmost efficiency. What more could you wish for this New Year!
Do you think automation is too expensive?... Well think again!
Your machine will also be supported after installation by one of our 43 technical and service team.
Automation Updates 03 New Self Cleaning Robot
Positive Solutions 03
News Roundup 03 Pharmacy Show 2010 Our Robot on the BBC News!
Well, now there really is no need to worry as ARX are giving you the opportunity to invest in an automation system, at a fraction of the usual price.
The Select automation system has been the most reliable form of automation in pharmacies for the last 15 years and is suitable for any pharmacy who dispenses over 4,000 packs per month.
Newlands Pharmacy Ancaster Surgery
PMR Systems
Have you ever thought about the possibility of automation, but the anticipation of finding out that it comes with a large price tag has stopped you from enquiring?
Recently some of our customers have upgraded to the new Vmax system for additional speed and space benfits, which has lead to the creation of a 2nd hand market for the Select system. These Select systems are carefully un-installed by our engineers, reconditioned and then installed in their new homes, providing all the functionality of a brand new system, without the price tag!
Case Studies 02
Who’s Who at ARX 04 Wayne Collins - Senior Sales Executive
Exhibition schedule 04 Where you will find ARX in the up and coming months Rowa Select Of the 419 pharmacies in the UK who have chosen to automate with ARX, 12 of them have installed reconditioned machines. Bell Brad, Director at Munro Medical in London is likely to be the 13th pharmacist to install a reconditioned machine. Bell stated that he is looking forward to having the robot installed to help with his nursing home business and is happy to purchase a reconditioned machine because, “it can do the same job as a brand new machine at a fraction of the cost.”
Did you know?... •An average of 1.3 pharmacists choose to automate with ARX every day.
•We have over 40 innovative patents on the Vmax picking head!
ARX Ltd • Tel: +44(0)1727 893360 • Fax: +44(0)1727 893361 • Email: sales@arx-ltd.co.uk • Web: www.arx-ltd.co.uk 01
Newlands Pharmacy Official Opening Vijay Vasu, Owner of Newlands Pharmacy in Harold Hill, Essex, and his wife Ushma, held the official grand opening of their newly refurbished and fully automated pharmacy on the 3rd September.
opposed to three hours per day.
The opening was a huge success, with guests including family members, colleagues, staff from NHS Havering, staff from Lloyds Bank, politicians and the Primary Care Trust (PCT).
As well as saving you time when loading stock, ARX automation has many more
ARX are proud that we have been able to offer Vijay and his staff an effective solution to save them time every day.
significant benefits which can make the day to day running of your pharmacy far less stressful. To hear more about how ARX automation could benefit your pharmacy too, please contact us using the contact details on page 4 of this newsletter.
The event was officially opened by the Minister of Health, Mr. Simon Burns MP. Mr Burns described the pharmacy as, “a first rate, cutting edge pharmacy at the heart of the community.” Chief Executive of the Havering PCT, Chas Hollwey, also gave a short speech, stating that Newlands Pharmacy is, “a good example of how we’re [NHS] maximising resources.” He also mentioned that Newlands Pharmacy “offered all the best that modern pharmacies can provide.” Wayne Collins, Senior Sales Executive for the UK spoke to Suhel, Supervisor at the Newlands Pharmacy on Harold Hill. Suhel was happy that they now only spend about 15 minutes putting away stock as
Simon Burns MP, Angela Watkinson MP and Vijay Vasu
Ancaster Surgery - Staff Time vs. Dispensing Volumes A report released earlier this year stated that total dispensing volumes have risen a further 5 per cent in England in the last year, leading experts to warn of increased pressure and stress levels on pharmacists. We met up with Adrian Down, Practice Manager of Ancaster Surgery, to discuss his opinions on staff time and welfare since using automation. Ancaster Surgery is a dispensing doctors surgery in Lincolnshire with a fixed number of 8,300 patients who’s prescription quantities have significantly increased. The robot was installed in the dispensary as a result of staff struggling to cope with their workload. There was simply no space to recruit any new members of staff.
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Since the install, the surgery have dispensed up to 17,000 items per month, without replacing staff who have retired. There is also a lot more space in the dispensary, and staff are no longer getting in the way of each other when reaching for medication packs on the shelves.
We’ve future-proofed ourselves for years to come.” Not only are the surgery’s dispensing staff less stressed, the local community are fascinated by the robot. Adrian stated,” It gives the right impression of us moving forward as a practice.”
Staff in the dispensary are aged between early 40’s to late 60’s and have not been phased by modern technology at all. In fact, they have very little interaction with it as their PMR tells the robot what to dispense. Adrian stated that he could never envisage going back to a pre-automated dispensary, “Because of the continual growth in items, we would have run out of space.”
Ancaster Surgery Dispensary
ARX Ltd • Tel: +44(0)1727 893360 • Fax: +44(0)1727 893361 • Email: sales@arx-ltd.co.uk • Web: www.arx-ltd.co.uk
Self Cleaning Robots Rowa have recently announced a new addition to their Red Dot Design Award winning Rowa Vmax automation system, and we can guarantee it’s a solution to a job you wouldn’t enjoy doing yourself!
This new self cleaning functionality was only announced by Rowa at the beginning of October. ARX are looking forward to installing it into the machines of both new and existing customers.
The Vmax now has a housekeeping mode where the robot will clean its own glass shelving when instructed to do so by the user, or as part of a pre defined schedule.
We recommend that housekeeping functionalities are run out of pharmacy hours, throughout the night for instance, so that your medicine packs are in optimum positions for your working day.
The user will simply choose the self cleaning functionality from the housekeeping menu on the visualisation screen, and the picking head in the Vmax will set to work moving packs from a particular shelf at a time. A cleaning attachment is then picked by the picking head and moved across the empty shelf to clean it. The packs are then placed back on the clean shelf and the process is repeated again with the rest of the shelves in the machine.
Smooth Operator! Associated Chemists (Wicker) in Sheffield has always been at the forefront of technology. In 1978 they were one of the first pharmacies to introduce computer generated labelling. A year later, the pharmacy was updated to include the ‘Pharmatriever’ – a rotating set of shelves which allowed easy access to medicines. However, it is a completely different story today with a state of the art pharmacy including ARX automation. The 70 strong team offer a vast range of services and products and rely heavily on their IT system to keep up with demand. Positive Solution’s Analyst integrated pharmacy system provides the pharmacy with all the functionality they need plus a bi-directional interface which offers a real two way dialogue configured to fit in with Associated Chemist’s individual dispensing processes. As with the robot, the Positive Solutions Analyst system handles electronic prescriptions quickly and easily, making it a very simple process for staff and
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dramatically reduces the chance of dispensing errors with the use of barcode technology. On the arrival of an electronic prescription, the barcode is scanned into the PMR system which signals the robot to retrieve the product. The product is then labelled and final cross checks are carried out on the patient label and product. Managing Director of Associated Chemists, Martin Bennett, says: “Using Positive Solutions with ARX automation is like a breath of fresh air. The whole dispensing process is so much smoother. We have 11 terminals coming from our robot and using Positive Solutions with them has given us unbelievable stability.”
News roundup: The Pharmacy Show 10th - 11th October 2010
The Pharmacy Show, held annually at the Birmingham NEC, was once again a huge success. If the promise of a glass of bubbly on the ARX stand wasn’t enough for visitors, we also brought along many of our robots, from fully automated systems to basic channel systems. Dave Harper, Sales and Marketing Director at ARX, summed up the event by stating, “The Pharmacy Show is always a fantastic way of not only meeting new pharmacists, but also catching up with many familiar faces. We look forward to next year, and an even bigger and better display of robotics from ARX!” ARX Robot on the BBC News! Forth Valley Royal Hospital
ARX automation was featured on the BBC News and Radio 4 on the 18th October. The BBC news team interviewed Head Pharmacist Jann Davidson and Project Manager Liam Coughlan at the new Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert who were happy that ARX automation has saved them £700,000 off their drugs bill. To view the video online, please visit www.bbc.co.uk/news and type ‘Forth Valley Royal Hospital Automation’ into the search box.
ARX Ltd • Tel: +44(0)1727 893360 • Fax: +44(0)1727 893361 • Email: sales@arx-ltd.co.uk • Web: www.arx-ltd.co.uk
Who's who at ARX: Wayne Collins Senior Sales Executive - UK
NEC - Birmingham
Exhibition schedule Wayne and Tigger Wayne Collins joined ARX in April 2007 and in those 3 and a half years, has developed into the role of Senior Sales Executive for the South of the UK.
ARX will be present at a variety of exhibitions across Europe over the next few months. This is your opportunity to take a closer look at some of the latest equipment and to talk about your requirements with our experienced members of staff. 1st - 3rd March 2011
Infarma - Barcelona 24th - 26th March 2011
Expofarma - Lisbon Wayne enjoys working for ARX because our automated systems are the most advanced in the industry, so there are more benefits for his customers.
25th - 27th March 2011
Interpharm - Hamburg 26th - 28th March 2011
Pharmagora - Paris
Since Wayne has been working for ARX, he has sold robots to many pharmacies and developed many friendships as a result, which makes his job far more enjoyable! Wayne graduated from Hertfordshire University in 2005, with a BSc Hons degree in Sports Therapy and has been enjoying this as a hobby alongside working at ARX ever since. Having been a dedicated member of an American football team and a swimming coach, Wayne isn’t short of friends in need of his expertise! Congratulations to Wayne and his fiancé Sashi, who are due to get married in June 2011.
ARX International Belgium - Luxemburg Avenue Henri Jaspar 99 1060 BRUXELLES
Call us now to discuss how ARX automation can help you: ARX Ltd Unit 6, Beaumont Works, Hedley Road, St. Albans, AL1 5LU
Tel: +44(0)1727 893360 Fax: +44(0)1727 893361 Email: sales@arx-ltd.co.uk Web: www.arx-ltd.co.uk
ARX News • Edited by Stephanie Dyke • Happy New Year!
France ARX SAS La Petite Periche Route de Navrans 72200 BAZOUGES-SUR-LE-LOIR Spain C/ Camino de Casabermeja, 118, bajo 29014 MALAGA Switzerland 5, Route de Chêne case postale 6298 case postale 6298 CH-1211 GENEVE 6
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