Swisslog supply logistics systems and Automated Guided Vehicles for new hospital pharmacy in Spain

The Hospital Universitari de Sant Joan in Reus, a leading healthcare institution in Catalonia, relies on Swisslog for the automation of its drug logistics and internal transports. The order includes the implementation of state-of-the-art technology as well as support and maintenance services for eight years. The installation shall be completed by December 2010.

"This project is a milestone for Swisslog Healthcare Solutions in Europe. We look forward to supply our first hospital pharmacy client in Spain with a range of logistics systems we have already successfully implemented in many other leading hospitals throughout Europe," notes Pieter Feenstra, Head of Healthcare Solutions Europe at Swisslog. The new University Hospital of Reus features more than 470 beds. It will include 12 operating theatres, 22 beds for intensive care and 60 beds dedicated to emergency patients. By offering patients the latest Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner technology, Reus is bound to become the reference hospital for cancer cure and research in the Tarragona region, south of Barcelona.

Higher patient safety and efficient transports
Swisslog will (AGV). On-site assistance and systems maintenance will be ensured by Oppent, main contractor to the hospital and a long-time Swisslog partner with headquarters in Italy and offices in Spain.

The hospital in Reus will feature a state-of-the-art pharmacy equipped with two PillPick and two BoxPicker systems from Swisslog’s Automated Drug Management Systems offering. PillPick is a pharmacy robot that automates the packaging, storage and dispensing of medications in unit doses. In Reus, PillPick will supply 6 000 unit doses on a daily basis. Each bag is identified by the commercial name of the medication, the active ingredient, the production lot and expiry date in order to guarantee maximum safety to patients. Bed-side verification represents another important safety step: the barcode of each medication will be checked with the barcode assigned to the patient, reducing almost to zero the possibility of medication error.

BoxPicker, a high-density automated pharmacy warehouse for the storage and dispensing of medications as well as supplies, completes the automation of the pharmacy. One of the BoxPickers is equipped with the "Dual-Temp" option: this enables automated storage and picking of temperature-sensitive drugs requiring refrigeration while offering room for normal-temperature storage, all within one automated compact unit. BoxPicker guarantees safety and efficiency thanks to controlled access and a software that tracks inventory as well as system access, interfacing directly with the hospital information system.

TransCar, the Automated Guided Vehicle system for internal transports, will make a substantial contribution to improving the hospital’s logistics efficiency. Six vehicles with a loading capacity of up to 500 kg each will move about 500 containers along corridors, in elevators, tunnels and over bridges. TransCar will perform routine and on-demand transports of food, linen, waste, medications and material, with each vehicle covering about 15 km per day.