further investigation reveals they may be coming to a pharmacy near you too : pharmaceutical-technology.c... pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/robotic-drug-dispensing-digital-pharmacy/
However , not everything is changing , so no need to be alarmed folks .... just like it's human predecessors it didn't bother to read the note on the pharmacies computer asking them not to give me Teva .
so pleased i'll still be able to have those "sorry to be a pain , but these are wrong , can you change them please" chats every so often .
Written by
tattybogle
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Many pharmacies, especially the larger ones, are moving to new automated systems.
Although this may save some time and, dare I say, perhaps even personnel at the pharmacy, this is not so good news for patients requiring specialised prescriptions.
If you require a special brand of levothyroxine, as you may be intolerant to many of the generics, or if you do require a lactose free variant, this is bad news. Even if the GP writes specifically "Accord levothyroxine' on your prescription, the stupid robot does not pick up on the fact and just doles out any old generic that the pharmacy stocks at present. Hey hum, levothyroxine is just levothyroxine - right?!
If there is still a human element involved at the pharmacy, this might get picked up and you probably have a chance to get what is written on your prescriptions. If you are getting your prescriptions from an online pharmacy, bad news, as your request will not be fulfilled and you have to deal with a snotty guy at the other end of an e-mail, throwing you attitude for daring to question their perfect system.
Very sorry for the rant - just really fed up having to run around again for getting the brand I need....😢
You'd think the prescription writing system is a prime area to modernise... I have just looked at my prescription and it does show the PIP code against Vencamil but not against Roma T3 🤷♀️
But it is madness that PIP codes are proprietary, commercial, and costly.
That might be why they are not used everywhere, not put on packages, etc.
But the GTIN is the Global Trade Item Number which uniquely identifies the product/package. And that appears on packaging (in the GS1 Data Matrix), in the dm+d database, etc.
Of course, some idiots compile lists which show both PIP (where known) and GTIN, effectively linking them and making all sorts of sense!
However, I think both have issues when, for example, the product changes subtly. We have seen the odd time a physical package changes - e.g. the blister pack is long and thin, or short and wide - while it has exactly the same contents in pharmaceutical terms. I don't know where PIP and/or GTIN change.
Yes. That is why the GS1 Data Matrix is on the pack end. So that it is accessible to scanners.
Remember, PC or 01: is the GTIN, it also uses the SN: serial number, LOT: batch number and EXP: expiry date.
PIP is primarily for ordering systems. I think I must be missing something because I cannot understand why they need both PIP and GTIN. And as GTIN is universal (even beyond UK and EU), let us see PIP get abandoned. But that might be from a position of ignorance.
I mean, if nothing else, a computer system could link PIP and GTIN. With the full GS1 code identifying not just the product, but right down to the actual packet.
"I mean, if nothing else, a computer system could link PIP and GTIN. With the full GS1 code identifying not just the product, but right down to the actual packet."
So to my mind this doesn't sound like a big ask in this day and age? 🤷♀️When dealing with something as important as medication!
I will fess up that I take little notice of the boxes these days but I did notice Roma has slightly changed it's colours and design... detected this through the prescription bag🧐
There are so many reasons to get away from PIP codes (as I see it - those in the industry may disagree).
GTIN codes apply to the pallet, the big box, the small box, right down to the individual unit with 28 tablets of capsules. At each level, a different GTIN is assigned. So there can be no confusion between ordering a pallet and a pack.
And the GTINs are assigned separately - so there is no way of changing a pallet into a pack by changing a couple of characters.
I think that PIP codes are just "the product" and you could order 1, 100, 1000, 100,000 packs just by changing the quantity.
yes this pharmacy is extremely busy .... there's at least 15 people working behind the counter at any one time , in fact so many it's impossible to count them , i've tried ......... fortunately they are very helpful and and have never patronised me once ... which might be why they have gradually become so busy i suppose. ...
Surely it needs programming into the robot? It can’t do what it isn’t told to do. You’d think that would have been stipulated as a requirement of the things it must be able to do.
When the previous owners of my local chemist used a robot at their warehouse it meant that your prescription took an extra 3 days and arrived shrink wrapped in plastic. It was horrible!
There might have been more to it than just the slow robot as I dont think they had enough money to buy from certain wholesalers and thankfully in the end, having lost many of their customers they got bought out.
So now I'm wary about robots in chemists but probably in the right hands they will be a boon.
Robotic dispensing, aids the Pharmacy with the storage of medicines. It does not do everything, there is still human input with the picking of the medicines via a computer from the prescription, labelling and checking. Human error still occurs and you can still get the wrong brand picked when you have a specific brand annotated on the prescription, usually because it depends on what has been purchased (cost exercise) and brand not always specified on the computer, I know this first hand as I work with a robotic system within an NHS hospital pharmacy.
Bar coding and automated systems once correctly programmed are demonstrably far more accurate than humans. Additionally pharmacists could then be redeployed from reading barcodes to actually helping patients with their medications, doing tests, doing inoculations and even prescribing. There is a shortfall in NHS staff ...
As a minor technical point, the pack end codes for medicines are GS1 Data Matrix codes - not bar codes!
There are apps which can scan and interpret - I've got Scan Matrix and Cognex Barcode Scanner installed on my iPhone. Others may be available and I'm sure the same apps or similar can be found for Android - and they might work on some tablets as well.
There does appear to be a move to try to standardise a future based on QR Codes, but it will be many years before that can even be agreed.
My intention is to make it easy for anyone to scan their medicines using a phone - it they wish.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Teva? General consensus on reformulation?
Just found out I have a thyroid problem
Here's the Proof your GP can prescribe T3, NDT, Whiskey...
