Ruijin Hospital Taicang Branch recently opened a smart pharmacy integrating dispensing and warehousing, allowing patients to receive their medicine right away without have to wait in long queues.

A fully-automated pharmacy dispenser in Ruijin Hospital Taicang Branch. [Photo/WeChat account: tcfbgw]

When patients scan their pick-up slips on a high-speed scanner designed for medical insurance reimbursement tracing, their medication information is instantly synchronized with the smart pharmacy system.

The fully-automated pharmacy dispenser then dispenses the medicines according to the information. Pharmacists only need to deliver the dispensed medicines to the corresponding pharmacy counter and, after double-checking the medicine names and dosages, hand them over to the patients.

On average, this process takes about 10 seconds, with efficiency increased several times over compared to traditional pharmacies.

When stock runs low, the system automatically triggers a replenishment command. The connected drug storage facility then replenishes the medicines to the corresponding channels, with no manual handling required.

In addition, the hospital is currently debugging an artificial intelligent "pharmacist". Once launched, it will provide citizens with more convenient services such as medication consultations and dosage reminders.