All Modul once began as a logistics provider for hospitals. Today, the company also makes the entire medication chain transparent: from entry into the warehouse to administration at the bedside. They show that at Zorg & ict and Zorg & facility.
Staff shortages, rising costs and increasing complexity make it increasingly difficult to ensure medication safety. Precisely in this context, the demand for overview, digitization and smart automation is growing.
Medication registration, scanning and inventory management
"Traditionally, we set up hospitals logistically," says account manager Jacob Elgersma. "From warehouse to patient, everything related to medical storage and transport. In addition, we got more and more demand from hospitals for digitization and control."
That movement led to the creation of the Pharmacy Automation industry, which combines logistics expertise with software solutions for medication registration, scanning and inventory management.
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Full insight into supplies
One of the biggest benefits of that integration, according to Elgersma, is the full insight into supplies. "You know exactly where what medication is. As a result, a hospital has to keep much less inventory. Less inventory means less capital tie-up and ultimately less waste." After all, medication often has a limited shelf life. Better oversight prevents medication from expiring unused.
Logistics hardware and software
What further distinguishes All Modul is that the company controls both logistics hardware and software. Rob Wanschers, Director of Healthcare IT at All Modul: "We provide medical logistics solutions, as well as IT workstations, software and hardware for the purpose of medication chain automation. As a result, we are involved in the entire workflow in hospitals. And that enables us to automate the entire medication flow."
Whereas other suppliers can often optimize only part of the chain, All Modul can link existing hardware, cabinets or robots to its own software. "That's unique. A hospital doesn't have to replace everything. We can integrate existing systems into the closed-loop process. Even when budgets are limited, we can optimize incrementally, with a multi-year plan."
Also read: Pictograms clarify information about medications
Fully closed-loop process
A major obstacle remains that medication is often not barcoded on the smallest packaging. "Hospitals would like to scan at the bedside," Wanschers explains. "But they can't do that if there's no barcode on the individual pill or unit dose." All Modul offers its own solution for this: robots that can barcode blister packs. "Once you have unit-dose barcoding, you can use systems like ChipSoft or EPIC to achieve a completely closed-loop process: the right medication, in the right amount, at the right time, for the right patient."
Real-time visibility into what's where
Pressure on staff makes automation more urgent than ever. "We see a severe shortage of employees in the sector," says Elgersma. "With our solutions, you save a lot of time. Employees no longer have to go all over the hospital to check cabinets. The pharmacy sees in real time what's where." Smart medication cabinets open only for the medication an employee is authorized to take. That reduces the chance of errors and reduces waste.
At Zorg & ict and Zorg & facility, All Modul shows that it goes beyond storage and registration. For example, the company is demonstrating an autonomous transport robot that transports medication between pharmacy and ward. The robot drives up and down between the two stands. "A practical example of how we add robotization to our existing logistics as well as IT solutions," says Wanschers.
Over the next five years, All Modul expects to continue investing in connected solutions. "Everything is about unburdening," says Elgersma. "We want to relieve healthcare professionals of as many administrative and logistical tasks as possible so they can focus on the patient."
