An automated Pharmacy for the “Cardinale Giovanni Panico” Hospital Trust

The “Cardinale Giovanni Panico” hospital trust in Tricase (in the province of Lecce) is a Catholic facility that was inspired by the cardinal himself and built in 1967 by the International Institute of Marcelline Sisters, which is still responsible for its management today.

A centre of excellence in the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative and oncological diseases, it is well-known across Italy for the range of diagnostic services and treatments offered, thanks to the use of cutting-edge technology such as a 3-Tesla MRI scanner.

The traditional handling of pharmaceuticals in the hospital pharmacy, using shelving and refrigerators, was hugely inefficient and exposed the facility to excessive waste and the risks associated with expired pharmaceuticals, possible errors in identifying and administering medicines and the theft of high-value pharmaceuticals.

The objective of the Trust focused on rationalizing pharmaceutical spending in order to free up resources to invest in further raising the standards of patient care and make treatment processes safer and more efficient.  To help them reach this goal, the “Cardinale Giovanni Panico” decided to reorganise their storage space and optimize operational work flow using intelligent solutions from ICAM.

The solution proposed by ICAM was based on 2 automated SILO² Vertical Lift Modules , installed side-by-side over two storeys of the hospital.  A cut-out in the slab between two floors allowed the 6.4-metre-high storage systems to separate and speed up the handling operations.

Automation of the storage of their pharmaceuticals has resulted in significant advantages in terms of savings in time, space and management costs.  Thanks to automatic dispensing, the picking process for pharmaceuticals can be carried out in just a few seconds, freeing up the pharmacist for more high-level tasks.