How to improve patient care with pouch packing

Pouch packing is an efficient way to save you time, costs, and enhance patient care in your pharmacy.
But it may not be suitable for every pharmacy, so how do you know if it’s the right solution for you?

 

What is pouch packing in pharmacy?

A pouch packing machine is used to package pharmaceuticals.
Multi-dose strip packaging reduces checking time for pharmacists and can reduce med-pass times and reduce the potential for medication errors.

 

 

How does a pouch packing machine work

A pouch packing machine contains product-specific canisters that drop a dose onto a strip which is then sealed by a second strip.
The pouch can contain one product or multiple products.
The pouch will contain the personalised details of the patient and any information the pharmacist wants such as a bar code for inventory control.

 

Pouch packing vs blister packing

Blister packing machines have individual pockets and are ideal for solid doses like tablets, capsules or lozenges and medication which needs to be protected.

Pouch packing machines are flexible plastic, single-use sachets for powders, granules, liquids, creams or gels as well as solid medications. They can be used for bulk dispensing but aren’t as robust for more moisture-sensitive or light-sensitive drugs.

 

Benefits of pouch packing

There are many reasons why pouch packing could improve the workflow in your pharmacy including:

 

Reducing medical waste

From expired products to changes in dosage, there can be a lot of medical waste produced at your pharmacy which increases costs.
A pouch packing machine reduces this by reducing the supply so there are minimal amounts of medication for patients to discard of if their prescription changes.

Improving patient compliance and safety

Pouch packing machines offer custom dosage systems and can be tailored for poly-medicated patients which helps them comply with their treatment.
The pouches provide easy-to-understand information such as icons for different intakes and Farmadosis’ MDS pouch packing machine prints information on a white face with a transparent pouch to better identify tablets.

The biggest reason for nonadherence to medication was patients forgetting they had already taken a dose. Packing interventions allow patients to self-monitor medication and help them remember when they have consumed a dose as well as allowing third parties, such as a carer, to track their medication.

It also means pharmacists have more time to focus on patients while the pouch packing machine does the repetitive task of packing medication.

 

 

Dealing with pharmacy staff shortages

The shortage of staff for pharmacies continues to be a problem with 75% of pharmacy team members reporting their pharmacy had staff shortages and 75% reporting they had difficulty hiring permanent staff.

The shortage of staff along with an 86% reported rise in requests for healthcare advice means pharmacists are under increasing pressure.

Pharmacy automation such as pouch packing machines helps to make processes more efficient to free up time for pharmacists.

 

Revenue growth

Pharmacies that offer pouch packing can win business from care homes and other organisations. They have the capacity to undertake bulk dispensing and can grow their pharmacy by doing so.

 

Reducing time

Pouch packing has been reported to reduce up to 10 minutes per prescription for technicians and up to 3 minutes per prescription for pharmacists.
Instead of individually dispensing tables and checking the products and administration times, the pouch packing machine does this automatically. This can give pharmacists more time to have conversations with patients to help improve patient care and reduce medication errors.

 

 

Considerations before investing in pouch packing

While pouch packing offers lots of benefits, there are factors that should be considered before deciding it is right for your pharmacy.

 

Patients

Pouch packing may not be suitable for all patients for example patients with cognitive limitations or for patients with psychiatric or substance abuse issues.

 

Investment

The initial cost of purchasing a pouch packing machine can be significant. However, the return on investment can be rapid, as little as one to two years for higher volume pharmacies.

 

Space

There are different sizes of pouch packing models and while they take up space, it could be less than you currently use for storing all your medications.
The Farma Z-Series ranges from 1100 x 630 x 1980 mm with larger sizes available.

 

Pouch packing specifications

The type of pouch packing machine you choose will depend on your capacity. Some pouch packing machines such as the Farma Z-Series can produce for 120 patients per week and some up to 500 patients.

 

Ongoing support

It’s important that when you purchase a pouch packing machine, you do so from a pharmacy automation company that will provide ongoing support.
Purchasing a pharmacy automation machine isn’t simply transactional but it means having an ongoing relationship with the provider.
At Edia, we train all your staff on how to use the pouch packing machine until they are confident in doing soon as well as supporting you long-term.

If you’d like a demo of our pouch packing machines, please get in touch.