ABSTRACT
Purpose: This research aimed to evaluate medication software for a healthcare robot. Study I compared two software versions (RoboGen and RoboGen2) for system usability, speed and accuracy of medication entry; Study II evaluated system usability and community pharmacists' views of RoboGen2. Methods: Study I had a within-subjects experimental design and recruited 40 Health Sciences students to enter different, comparable sets of prescriptions into the two systems, in randomized order, within a limit of 15 min. Screen activity was recorded to observe prescription errors. Study II had a cross-sectional observational design and recruited 20 community pharmacists using convenience sampling. Pharmacists entered three prescriptions using RoboGen2. Participants in both studies completed the System Usability Scale (SUS) following each task. Study I participants completed a questionnaire on system preference, and Study II participants a semi-structured interview. Results: Study I participants preferred Robogen2 (p < 0.001) due to its sleek and modern layout, good flow, ease of use, and intuitive design. SUS scores [t (40) = -3.40, p = 0.002] and speed of medication entry favored Robogen2 (t = 3.65, p < 0.001). No significance was found in accuracy (t = 1.12, p = 0.27). In study 2, pharmacists rated the usability of RoboGen2 below average. Themes from interviews were navigation and streamlining the system, ease of use, and integration with pharmacy software systems. Conclusion: Adding safety features and better aesthetics can improve the usability and safety of a medication prescription system. Streamlining workflow and pre-populating data can increase speed of prescription entry without compromising patient safety. However, a better approach is integration with pre-existing pharmacy systems to reduce workload while incorporating safety features built into existing dispensing systems.
ABSTRACT
Background The proliferation of different technologies in pharmacies has begun to change the role and work of pharmacists; however, while workplace integration of technologies has been shown to be beneficial, there are still barriers to their implementation. Few studies have investigated pharmacists' perceptions of these technologies. Objective To investigate the views of community pharmacists on the implementation of technologies in pharmacy practice. Setting Community pharmacies in Auckland, New Zealand. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted June-September 2018 with a convenience sample of 20 pharmacists. Interviews explored current medication management and technologies used to support this service, experiences with technologies, confidence in learning new technologies, and whether the introduction of technologies could solve any needs in pharmacy practice. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Main outcome measure Community pharmacists views on pharmacy technologies. Results Four key themes were identified: attitudes to existing medication management technologies, adapting to new technologies, acceptance of technology, and barriers to implementing technology in pharmacies. Pharmacists were accepting of technology to help with medication management and allowing them to provide more patient-centered care. Most pharmacists expressed confidence in using new technologies and viewed technology as a tool to address current limitations in their practice. Barriers to technology were cost, consequences of medication error, fear that technology may replace people, and an over-reliance on technology. Conclusion Community pharmacists made use of several types of technologies to promote medication management, including robotics. While mostly accepting of new technologies to streamline tasks and reduce error, pharmacists highlighted the importance of addressing barriers to technology implementation prior to workplace implementation.
