Improving patient’s health and safety is always
a primary objective in hospital and health care settings, and pharmacologists
have been discovering a variety of policies and technologies to achieve this
objective. Automated dispensing system, also termed as automated drug cabinet,
is an electronic drug storage and dispensing device primarily used in health
care settings. These systems provide easy to operate computer-controlled
storage, dispensing, and tracking of medicine. These systems have been recommended
as one of the potential instruments to improve efficiency and patient safety,
and they are now widely used in many hospitals, for instance in clinics,
nursing homes, are located at the point of care settings (POC), for example in
an accident & emergency department (A&E), diagnostic labs, an intensive
care unit (ICU), and critical care unit (CCU).
Automated dispensing systems deliver a balance
between security, user-friendliness, inventory management, and control of
medications, which are all acknowledged as imperative features of a safe
medication distribution system. These features drive the global automated
dispensing systems market. Other drivers of the market include increasing
demand for rapidly generated electronic reports to help categorize and prevent
potential diversion from patient’s current health status. Automated dispensing
systems save nursing time by reducing the need for manual end-of-shift counts
in patient care division. Moreover, there is growing demand for automated
systems such as barcodes and RFID cabinets, which help stock management and
inventory management. These are the key factors expected to drive the market in
the next few years. Moreover, increase in global geriatric population and
prevalence of various chronic diseases, as well as high rates of
hospitalization are some of the factors increasing the burden on hospital
pharmacies and retail drug stores, consequently increasing demand for automated
dispensing systems. Increase in the number of prescriptions and lack of skilled
pharmacists are the other factors expected to boost automation in medication
dispensing.
The global automated dispensing systems market
has been segmented based on product type, end-user, and region. In terms of
product type, the market has been segmented into centralized automated
dispensing systems and de-centralized automated dispensing systems. Centralized
automated dispensing systems are sub-segmented into robotic automated systems
and manually operated unit-dose system. Decentralized systems which provide
computer controlled storage, tracking of medications, and dispensing have been
recommended widely and are expected to hold large market share in the near
future.
Based on end-user, the global automated
dispensing systems market has been segmented into pharmacy stores, hospitals,
laboratories, and others. The hospitals segment is anticipated to account for
major share of the automated dispensing systems market driven by rapidly
increasing health care expenditure and rising patient admissions which
increases burden on pharmacy departments. The hospitals segment has been
sub-segmented into general ward and emergency ward. The pharmacy stores segment
is expected to expand at a high CAGR during the forecast period. Increasing
pressure on pharmacies due to rising drug prices and decline in reimbursements
leads to inefficient inventory and supply chain management. However, human
error can lead to medication dispensing errors. This in turn is expected to
boost the growth of the pharmacy stores segment during the forecast period.
North America accounted for major share of the
global automated dispensing systems market. This is attributed to increased concerns
toward patient’s health and safety. Europe was the next major market for
automated dispensing systems. However, Asia Pacific is expected to witness
significant growth during the forecast period. Key growth drivers of the
automated dispensing systems market in the region include increasing geriatric
population and rising health care expenditures.
Major players operating in the automated
dispensing systems market are Aesynt Incorporated, Becton, Dickinson and
Company, Omnicell, Inc., Pearson Medical Technologies, RxMedic Systems, Inc.,
Avery Weigh-Tronix, ScriptPro LLC, Capsa Solutions, LLC, and Cerner
Corporation, among others.
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