Ascribe extends integrated Pharmacy and Robotic IT systems to Royal
Bolton Hospital
Ascribe plc (AIM:ASP), the innovative health IT Group,
today announced that it has successfully installed its Web Pharmacy
solution at the Royal Bolton Hospital, part of the Bolton Hospitals NHS
Trust and that the site is completely operational. One unique aspect of
this 'Go Live' was that, on the same day that the hospital changed its
pharmacy IT system, they also brought online a robotic dispensing
system; thereby taking a massive leap forward in improving patient care
and safety.
The Ascribe Web enabled pharmacy system is designed by healthcare
clinicians to ensure higher patient safety standards. It achieves this
by using a patient's medication record which effectively warns pharmacy
staff automatically, via use of its integrated decision support service,
if there may be a dangerous drug interaction or allergic reaction
arising from the dispensed medications.
The Ascribe pharmacy system was selected by Bolton Hospital NHS Trust
because it extends such a broad range of complementary pharmacy services
outside of the dispensary. The system has been designed to allow
ward-based clinical services, such as medicines management (whereby
medicines can be ordered wirelessly from the wards) and electronic
prescribing and medicine administration (which records exactly what
medication was prescribed, when the medication was administered to the
patient, and what reaction was noted). In addition to this, the Ascribe
pharmacy system also provides the hospital pharmacy staff with a
bi-directional interface from their pharmacy system to their Rowa
Speedcase Robotic Dispensing unit, allowing pharmacists to both issue
requests for prescriptions to their robotic system and receive (stock
level) updates from their robot.
Brian Smith, Chief Pharmacist at the Royal Bolton Hospital said "The
Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust is delighted that Ascribe was able to deliver
such a robust and flexible pharmacy system within a twelve week project
cycle. Our staff has welcomed the additional patient safety features
that are embedded within the system and we look forward to extending our
pharmacy services beyond the pharmacy itself, thereby saving time and
providing a higher level of service to our clinicians and patients."
Stephen Critchlow, Executive Chairman of Ascribe plc said "Ascribe is
delighted that the Royal Bolton has taken this step to improve patient
safety standards. Our technology enables Hospitals to provide their
clinicians with comprehensive and relevant information when and where
healthcare decisions are made. This technology is in increasing demand
and we have recently sold similar systems in the UK (at Addenbrookes
Hospital, part of the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation
Trust), and overseas in Australia & New Zealand."
