SMARTFLOW ADVANTAGES

 

​ WORK STATIONS

    ​Filling Tech Station     Dimensions: 5'(L) x 2.5'(W) x 55"(H)

    Click photos to enlarge

    Each filling technician works at a private station located near robotics & an inventory carousel containing fast moving drugs.  Workflow features include a removable back-to-stock basket, easily accessible vial/lid drawer, hand-out cubbies, built-in HIPAA trash collector, & bag rack for waiting & in-process orders.  Stations are constructed to be ready to mount all-in-one touchscreen computers & floating keyboard for the electronic tech check. Employee satisfaction features include digital picture frame,  mounted cup holder, & drawer for personal items. Each station is equipped with a fingerprint reader, scanner, label printer, head set, & ample horizontal work space.  Bag hook above counter, and bag rack below counter keep bundled prescriptions off work area, freeing up horizontal counter space, especially compared with using trays.  Orders are processed as far as possible toward pharmacist work station & finally hung on the bag rack by time received, using color-coded urgency for quick visual recognition & reduced stress on the verifying pharmacists.  One or more “urgent care” technicians are assigned waiting patients in queue with red sacks; these technicians should be able to fill 3 times the average of most pharmacy technicians in a traditional pharmacy operation.  Our most recent record is 176 fills by one tech in 8 hours. By separating the technicians, they are less apt to interact, meaning less multi-tasking of talk + filling, & thus higher productivity.  Many technicians confide that it is harder to concentrate when other technicians talk to them & often promote separation from a traditional crowded line with limited horizontal space, the norm in today’s pharmacies.  Clinical techs may be used for conflict resolution.

    ​Pharmacist Work Station     Dimensions: 5'(L) x 2.5'(W) x 55"(H)

    Pharmacist station is a simplified version of the technician work station with a touch screen computer, phone, storage areas and a monitor to display family photos.  Separation from filling stations allows for focus with no disruptions of small talk from technicians.  Scanners & graphics in WF are available so technicians don’t have to send over stock bottles for verification, minimizing noise levels, thus minimizing hearing problems by pharmacists.  Consider placing station in view of all filling stations to allow for better supervision of multiple key employees. Think of the spotter in professional football seated high in the expensive box overlooking the football team; he sees everything, as should the pharmacy manager while s/he works. Station is also near counseling window(s), out of line of sight of patients in waiting area & drive up window, but still very accessible.  All handouts, narcotic inventory, & charting are within easy reach of RPh, along with verification rack holding bags waiting to be verified. This frees up more horizontal area for checking, & is next to POS sacking widow where pharmacists hang verified prescription bundling bags.  Pharmacist(s) also work by color urgency codes so stress is reduced for technicians, pharmacists, & even OTC clerks.

​ CAROUSELS

    ​Inventory Carousel*

    This vertical storage unit holds fast movers not in robotics.  Easy retrieval reduces walking & increases accuracy & speed. A typical pharmacy fixture is made in such a way that if you measure the square inches of horizontal space the bottles are sitting on, the loss of space behind just a single stock bottle & the loss of height (since each bottle is a different height), the wasted space is about 80% or more. There is a huge savings on smaller footprints with cylindrical carousels.  Rx labels include guides to the carousel & the particular quadrant containing targeted medication.  Lights on quadrants are additional guides for the technician, ensuring greater accuracy & quicker recognition on which of the 32 quadrants per carousel the correct medication resides. Light guides will also allow for easier & more consistent return to the right quadrant after counting the medication. Carousels are stocked alphabetically. In most pharmacies, the remainder of the non-robotic inventory can be stored on 3-4 inventory carousels. Liquids, topicals, injectables, OTC’s, diabetic products, boxes of asthma & COPD breathing solutions, & backup inventory for robotics can be stored on traditional metal shelving due to size & weight irregularities.  Fully adjustable bottle dividers  keep SKUs separate, preventing overstock & providing easier stock bottle retrieval & replacement for technicians.

​ PATIENT EDUCATION

    ​Education Kiosk*

    Sit-down kiosk for patients & care providers to educate themselves & spend wait time increasing patient adherence as they view Rx videos, browse health & wellness apps, or take blood pressure.  This lessens perception of wait time, especially in rural high volume pharmacies that have many waiting patients.  Rx videos on tablets are automatically delivered to the iPhone, personal computer, or tablet for further viewing after patient &/or caregiver leaves pharmacy.  Kiosks can be linked, placed back to back, or flipped upside down in multiple configurations to fit your space.  They may be purchased as single units, then arranged with 1, 2 or 3 semi-private stations equipped with movable benches with storage drawers.  Built-in hidden speakers provide enhanced sound for those who have trouble hearing, and electric power poles with built-in power supply keep tablets continually charged.   Future opportunities include using kiosks for ordering refills, telemedicine, BP and BMI measurements.

    ​iPad Stand*           Dimensions: 59"(H);  Footprint: 16" x 17";  Countertop: 10" x 12"

    Similar to education kiosk but simplified, lightweight, portable, stand-up unit for pharmacies with limited space.  Features include adjustable mount for iPad/tablet, small countertop surface, and built-in power supply to keep tablets continually charged.

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 Dimensions: 3.5'(D) x 7'(H)

 Dimensions: 4'(L) x 26.5"(W) X 4'(H);  Footprint with bench: 4' x 4'

 

 

 

​ BAGGING SYSTEM

    ​Verification Rack*     Dimensions: 41"(L) x 16"(W)x 63"(H);  Vertical space between shelves: 18"

    Reinvented from a previous carousel design, our new pharmacist bag racks have been streamlined for maximum efficiency, lower cost, and smaller footprint.  After the technician fills the prescriptions, he/she delivers them to the bag rack next to the pharmacist work station(s) where they are hung on bars to remain organized & conveniently located for the pharmacist to check.  They are hung by time frame so all employees know when the prescriptions were received.  All colors except red are hung on the bag rack.  Red bags are immediately given to the pharmacist to check & moved to the front of the line since these mean the patient is here, so STOP & get it ready as they are in a hurry.  The pharmacist bag rack is the transfer point to allow techs to retrieve & return inventory bottles to shelves after they drop off completed bundling bags.  Stock bottles, pints, or cream jars used to fill prescriptions are placed on the bag rack shelves below completed Rx bag.  After RPh verification, stock bottles are returned to carousel to be returned to inventory, avoiding mistake of thinking items are out of stock.

    ​Urgency Color-Coded Transparent Bundling Bags   Patent Pending       

    Pharmacist is able to find any patient’s prescription bag quickly as it is hanging & no longer  in cumbersome trays.  Color coded system allows orders to be filled according to patient urgency, lowering stress levels of all employees.  Red signifies patient waiting (urgent-stop & fill it ASAP), yellow for next 3-6 hours (caution), green for the next day (relax), & purple for unusual issues such as insurance rejects, need diluents, downed 3rd party IT systems, special orders, & special counseling on specialty drugs (danger).  When a technician looks for patient’s prescriptions, they are now found much easier than when the former trays were stacked & unorganized.  Vertical hanging bags free up so much more horizontal work space & provide much needed organization. In order to increase bag volume & not have to carry multiple sized bags for our hanging areas, we have incorporated large metal clasps to allow technicians to combine up to 3 bags for patients with numerous Rx's, & to bundle one final checked bag to a new, incoming order.  Pouches on the front and back of each bag allow for easy storage & retrieval of pricing & auxiliary labels.

SmartFlow’s effectiveness is based on redesign, optimized workflow, pharmacy software, robotics, IVR, & up to date hardware.

Learn how J&D Pharmacy, the lab for SmartFlow research & development, uses the system to maximize workflow & efficiency.

​ REDESIGN

    ​Entry Station

    Technician receives prescriptions in combo from IVR, synchronization orders, e-scripts, drive up window. etc. Hire fast, detail oriented technicians who can enter & greet patients, while staying on task. They must catch prescription errors before patient leaves, resolve insurance problems, or inform them medication is not in stock. Now is the opportunity to introduce patients to an OTC education staff to help them fill out an intake form similar to the first time in a physician’s office. You only have one chance to make an incredible first impression. Direct them to an Education Center, giving the patient a perception of less lengthy wait as they monitor BP & watch training videos on disease state & devices they will be using. Should you have HME (home medical equipment), now is the perfect time to introduce them to personnel, services & products you offer. Part of workflow (WF) is making the wait time, or perception of wait time, go fast & any patient-employee engagement speeds up the process in the patient's mind while building a valued relationship with a new patient. Entry tech sends a screen of information on every new prescription to the pharmacist checking station where it is verified for accuracy & DUR before it is released to insurance for the first 2 verification checks.  There is also a WF opportunity screen that can identify each patient’s order by urgency.  In the label messages, entry tech gives technicians enough basic information to choose which color coded bag is needed, red for patient waiting so stop & fill it ASAP (urgent), yellow for next 3-6 hours (caution), green for the next day (relax), & purple for problematic issues such as insurance rejects, need diluents, downed 3rd party IT systems, special orders, & special counseling on specialty drugs (danger).

    ​Bin Management & Sacking

    After verification by pharmacist, all color-coded prescription bags are hung in window for sacking. Color-coding allows OTC clerks to work at their own pace with quick visual recognition of which prescriptions to sack first, creating a less chaotic environment & increased proactivity & productivity.  Sacking station is separate & walled off from POS area to provide increased privacy in compliance with HIPPA regulations & no chance of theft.  After hours, area can be locked, so if OTC areas have different hours, there is no Board of Pharmacy security problem.  This again allows for more horizontal space by going vertical.  Stacking of typical plastic trays leads to errors due to easy spillage & wrong combination of patient meds.  A good POS pharmacy system allows one scan to pick up every Rx ticket in order to avoid missed Rx sales.  Printer allows clerk to add patient information leaflets to bags, saving RPh time.

    ​Counseling Station

    Consider building 2 stand-up counseling windows where one is more private & the other is more open.  Two persons or groups can be handled at the same time with 2 pharmacists, or even with one pharmacist if handled correctly.  Two windows allow for a drug salesman coming in for a short presentation while a patient waits for an answer, is counseled by another employee, or given a patient information leaflet.   The second window can also be closed & made into a privacy lunch counter.  All counseling supplies/handouts/props should be placed under or near this counter for immediate retrieval.  Some pharmacists are beginning to add video counseling to their counseling window.  This is not a good idea as a patient might tie up the window for a long time.  Do not place chairs as it makes it too easy for a patient to camp out.

*Photos below include previous models.  We are continuously updating the SmartFlow system with new & improved units at reduced prices. 
  For the latest models in stock, please return to products page.

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Calculate your store's potential savings over 5 years.

For info, orders, and pricing, please email or
contact us at (660)438-7331 (ext. 230 or 224).    

To plan your pharmacy redesign, see redesign samples and give us a call!

© 2014-2022 SmartFlow Pharmacy Workflow System - This is a Patent Pending system.  It is described in the nonprovisional patent application as “Method and Apparatus for Increasing Workflow in a Pharmacy." If you are doing a redesign of the pharmacy as we recommend then you are not affected.  Implementation of the system per our direction in addition to purchase of our offered modules act as an implied license to the system.  Copying of the system and modules is expressly prohibited.  Separate licensing agreements may be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.  Please contact us with any questions or inquiries.