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Honest question, why aren’t pills dispensed by machines? I get that a pharmacist should review the prescription. And let’s say you even want employee-customer

Honest question, why aren’t pills dispensed by machines? I get that a pharmacist should review the prescription. And let’s say you even want employee-customer interaction; which is great. But dispensing X pills from one bottle to another bottle is a solved problem right?

estearum 3mo ago
Machines cost a ton of money and need to be maintained? As those two variables change, I'm sure they will replace the dispensing function for pharmacists. In fact this already does happen at a lot of pharmacies these days. Machines put the pills in bottles, then a pharmacist hands the bottle to you.
calvinmorrison 3mo ago
There are pill counter machines! it's a solved problem for sure.
a2tech 3mo ago
They are in large setups. Including mail order and bulk dispensing places (like Walmart pharmacy—most pills are dispensed at central locations and delivered to the store prepackaged).
DriverDaily 3mo ago
I think that’s the idea behind those centralized pharmacies like Amazon health. Easier than putting a pill dispensing assembly line in every CVS.
StephenAmar 3mo ago
Well, in many countries, pharmacies just dispense prepackaged packs and bottles. No counting involved.
- dyauspitr 3mo ago
  Who packages them?
  - fyver 3mo ago
    Automated machines in pharma factories.
    - dyauspitr 3mo ago
      That doesn’t make sense if someone walks in off the street for a prescription you’re not going to get factory package medicine.
AussieWog93 3mo ago
I could imagine a machine like this would cost something on the order of $100k, require ongoing maintenance and wouldn't really solve any problems/bottlenecks at your typical local pharmacy. It's not like you could replace the pharmacist with a machine.
- irishcoffee 3mo ago
  Coin machines are really solid at accepting money. I feel like it’s a solved problem. Edit: I’m dumb, the order of operations is backwards. You’re right, it’ll never be solved.
trollbridge 3mo ago
A pharmacy tech actually counts the pills if they move them from Bottle A to Bottle B, it is not particularly time consuming, and it isn't a particularly skilled position. Starts at $14 an hour around me and tops out around $23.
stronglikedan 2mo ago
Because you can't hold a machine accountable, and if a pharmacist has to review the prescription anyway, the cost savings for just the dispensing part wouldn't be there considering the machines wouldn't be cheap. I needed an emergency prescription the other night and arrived at the pharmacy three minutes before closing time. The pharmacist was able to verify my prescription, dispense the pills, check their work, and complete my transaction with a minute to spare. It would take a very long time to pay off a machine that handled just the dispensing part.

estearum 3mo ago

Machines cost a ton of money and need to be maintained? As those two variables change, I'm sure they will replace the dispensing function for pharmacists. In fact this already does happen at a lot of pharmacies these days. Machines put the pills in bottles, then a pharmacist hands the bottle to you.

calvinmorrison 3mo ago

There are pill counter machines! it's a solved problem for sure.

a2tech 3mo ago

They are in large setups. Including mail order and bulk dispensing places (like Walmart pharmacy—most pills are dispensed at central locations and delivered to the store prepackaged).

DriverDaily 3mo ago

I think that’s the idea behind those centralized pharmacies like Amazon health. Easier than putting a pill dispensing assembly line in every CVS.

StephenAmar 3mo ago

Well, in many countries, pharmacies just dispense prepackaged packs and bottles. No counting involved.

dyauspitr 3mo ago
Who packages them?
- fyver 3mo ago
  Automated machines in pharma factories.
  - dyauspitr 3mo ago
    That doesn’t make sense if someone walks in off the street for a prescription you’re not going to get factory package medicine.

AussieWog93 3mo ago

I could imagine a machine like this would cost something on the order of $100k, require ongoing maintenance and wouldn't really solve any problems/bottlenecks at your typical local pharmacy. It's not like you could replace the pharmacist with a machine.

irishcoffee 3mo ago
Coin machines are really solid at accepting money. I feel like it’s a solved problem. Edit: I’m dumb, the order of operations is backwards. You’re right, it’ll never be solved.

trollbridge 3mo ago

A pharmacy tech actually counts the pills if they move them from Bottle A to Bottle B, it is not particularly time consuming, and it isn't a particularly skilled position. Starts at $14 an hour around me and tops out around $23.

stronglikedan 2mo ago

Because you can't hold a machine accountable, and if a pharmacist has to review the prescription anyway, the cost savings for just the dispensing part wouldn't be there considering the machines wouldn't be cheap. I needed an emergency prescription the other night and arrived at the pharmacy three minutes before closing time. The pharmacist was able to verify my prescription, dispense the pills, check their work, and complete my transaction with a minute to spare. It would take a very long time to pay off a machine that handled just the dispensing part.