Covid-19 has forever changed the way that the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry operates, and has caused numerous problems for workers within these fields. Since the start of the pandemic, 82% of hospitals have reported having to change their initiatives, 70% of pharmacists took on new job opportunities, and 86% of hospitals needed to change their medication-use guidelines. Hospital pharmacists also heavily reported an increase in symptoms of burnout, as healthcare workers have been retiring faster than new recruits can be trained.
Other sectors of the pharmaceutical industry that have been affected by Covid-19 are hospital revenue and the supply chain. Because costs of goods and services have increased during the pandemic, revenue has dropped as new and expensive infrastructure is being implemented and non-elective procedures are being put on hold. Further, drug shortages have been the number one issue faced by hospitals in recent years, and the pandemic has only made the challenge worse. Despite these many difficulties, new automation technologies have the potential to fill the gaps created by Covid-19.
There are many benefits to automation, including fewer errors, versatile machinery, and a lower cost of operation. Automated technology can complete many different tasks that may be lacking attention in a short-staffed hospital, and can do so with fewer mistakes than a human would when completing them manually. Also, it can work faster and at a lower cost than a human pharmacist. For example, a human technician can pick up to 120 medications per hour, while automated dispensing machines can pick up to 700 medications per hour at a price that is lower than the hourly wage of said pharmacist. Finally, automated pharmaceutical technology helps to keep operations organized and visible to prevent recalls and encourage inventory tracking. Although Covid-19 has forever changed the way that hospitals operate, automated technology may be a silver lining that will be useful in many ways during the pandemic and beyond.
