By automating medication transportation, we can allocate more pharmacy resources toward essential patient-care tasks like compounding and compliance, all while upholding our commitment to safe and accurate medication distribution.
Pranati Kuchimanchi, PharmDStaff at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) have some high-tech helpers joining them this summer, and patients and visitors may see them traveling the hospital’s hallways. DHMC has acquired three TUG robots to deliver medication from the pharmacy to the inpatient units in the newly opened Patient Pavilion.
“The geography of the Patient Pavilion presented a challenge for the pharmacy. It’s quite a distance away, increasing the travel time significantly for pharmacy techs who deliver medications,” said project manager Jill Cote. “The addition of the TUGs ensures more predictable delivery schedules to the Patient Pavilion’s inpatient units: two of the robots will be on a regular schedule, and the third will operate within the pharmacy and can be deployed for ad hoc requests.”
The autonomous mobile robots provide secure transport of medications. The robots enter and exit the pharmacy receiving area by activating their own door, which they will then promptly close and secure. The drawers on the unit will also be locked, only able to be opened by designated staff in designated locations. As an additional security measure, the TUGs will not carry any controlled substances. The robots are also designed to differentiate between people and fixed objects.
“We at pharmacy are thrilled to be pioneers in the use of the TUG robots for medication delivery in the Dartmouth Health system,” said Pranati Kuchimanchi, PharmD, clinical pharmacist lead for Medication Systems and Operations at DHMC. “With a hospital as expansive as ours, time is of the essence, and these robots will be ‘tugging’ along to help us make the most of every minute. By automating medication transportation, we can allocate more pharmacy resources toward essential patient-care tasks like compounding and compliance, all while upholding our commitment to safe and accurate medication distribution.”
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire's only academic health system and the state's largest private employer, serves patients across northern New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, as well as across its wide network of hospitals, clinics and care facilities. DHMC is consistently named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, one of only 56 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the only such center in northern New England; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the state’s only children’s hospital, and multiple clinic locations around the region; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene and New London, NH, and Bennington and Windsor, VT; Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and more than 24 clinics that provide ambulatory services across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its historical partnership with Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually, and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials recognized across the globe with Geisel and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Dartmouth Health and its more than 13,000 employees are deeply committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in our communities, and to providing each of our patients with exceptional, personal care.