Results from a four-year-long evaluation of Nordic biotech company Evondos’ pharmaceutical robots by Capio Närsjukvård in Södertälje reveal that patients are happier, the working environment of healthcare staff improved and valuable time was freed up for staff to perform other important tasks by spending less time dispensing medicines.
In response to this, the healthcare administration in Stockholm and Capio Närsjukvård began a pilot project back in 2018 to evaluate the impact of Evondos’ service (which includes medicine dispensing robots). During the four-year project, 109 patients received medicine dispensing robots, and approximately 116,000 doses of medication were dispensed in Södertälje.
“In Södertälje compliance - or delivery reliability - has been even higher during the pilot than what we would normally expect from our robots, which is 99.6 percent”, says Clarence Jacobson.
The results of the pilot show that the use of medicine dispensing robots appears to lead to higher levels of patient engagement, as well as to an improved work environment for healthcare staff. Patients seem very satisfied with the service, while healthcare staff have generally welcomed the use of medicine dispensing robots, which free up time for them to perform other important tasks instead of handing out medicines to patients.
“We feel more secure with Evondos. The service contributes to us being able to ensure the proper distribution of medicines, regardless of the patient’s situation. We are confident those who need medicine will receive their correct dosage at the exact same time every day. It's very reassuring”, says Susanne VanCrete, Operations Manager at Capio.
Throughout the course of the pilot study, both patients and their relatives had to indicate how likely it was that they would recommend pharmaceutical robots to someone else in a similar situation using a scale of 1-10, where 10 represents the highest probability. Patients gave an average value of 9.8, while relatives gave the Evondos service the maximum 10 points.
“We already knew that relatives were extremely satisfied with our medicine-dispensing robots. They feel secure that, for example, their frail father gets the right medicine at the right time and that healthcare professionals will receive an alarm if the medicine is not taken”, says Clarence Jacobson, who continues:
“In addition, patients gain a greater sense of independence. They don't have to adapt to homecare staff’s scheduled visits to give them medicine so they get more control over their own time. And if they go away for the day staff can ensure patients get multiple doses dispensed at the same time. Medicine dispensing robots create a great deal of freedom and provide the opportunity to stay at home for longer”.
Read the full press release and Capio report here: Successful pilot of pharmaceutical robots in Södertälje, Sweden - Evondos (cision.com)
