Robot changes face of Pharmacy at Robina Hospital

Minister for Health Cameron Dick today witnessed firsthand how technology is improving patient care on the Gold Coast, as Robina Hospital becomes just the second public hospital in Queensland to introduce robotics to dispense medicine.

Mr Dick said the specialised robot, fondly known as Max, has delivered considerable benefits to patients and staff since being installed in the hospital’s pharmacy.

“Max the robot reduces the time taken to dispense medication to patients by storing and retrieving up to 40,000 pharmaceutical items and delivering them to a specific area in the pharmacy,” he said.

“It enables pharmacy staff to turn their attention to more specialised work and ultimately means patients receive more hands-on care from their clinical teams.

“Max is also a prime example of what our government is aiming to achieve in health ­- harnessing innovation and new technologies in our hospitals to further strengthen and advance patient care.”

Gold Coast Health Director of Pharmacy Liz Coombes said the introduction of the robot was also important for improving patient safety.

“As well as improving turnaround times and reducing dispensing errors, it allows our staff even more time to perform important tasks such as educating patients and nurses about medication,” she said.

“This is a major investment for Gold Coast Health and the pharmacy team is already seeing the benefits with the robot dispensing about 300 medicines every day.”

Other benefits of the robotic technology include improved inventory control, improved after-hours dispensing capability and reduced pharmaceutical inventory holdings.

The pharmacy dispensing robot underwent more than five weeks of commissioning and testing before launching, with a similar system set to launch at Gold Coast University Hospital in the near future.

The Minister also spent part of the day highlighting the growing importance of research and a highly-skilled nursing workforce in a presentation to the inaugural Gold Coast Nursing and Midwifery Symposium.

The two-day conference is being held at Gold Coast University Hospital themed Nurses and Midwives working together towards tomorrow.

The event gives more than 200 nurses and midwives from across the country and as far as the Solomon Islands the chance to exchange ideas and create discussion around clinical, professional and research issues.

ENDS

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