Maximizing The Benefits of Automated Medication Dispensing

When is the right time to deploy an automated medication dispensing robot (AMD)? How to capture the most value with the implementation? Are there indications, after which the robot does not add meaningful value anymore? Vesa Tiitola and his research colleagues dove into these questions in their recent work, which I’m discussing and summarizing in this text.

Value Creation

Value creation potential with AMDs is often considered a result of avoided home care calls. While this is true in some cases, from the organizational perspective more substantial value creation happens when the so-called peak hours, typically in the morning, can be avoided and the home care calls are distributed more evenly during the day. Time savings as such cannot always be directly translated into economic savings. The question is more about resource allocation, or how many nurses are needed to work during one shift. Being able to serve an increasing number of home care clients with the same staffing solves part of the staffing shortages and, in cases where additional recruitments can be avoided, also means economic savings to the organization. By removing the need for new recruitments to handle the few peak hour visits, an organization can realize quite significant cost savings already with just a few AMDs. This obviously requires changes in ways of operating and re-thinking how the nursing time is allocated.

People who typically benefit from AMD at home are elderly, frail, having polypharmacy, and often they also suffer from cognitive impairment. Due to age and condition, their need for care is on an increasing trend. When looking at the benefits AMD can offer, the challenge is that the baseline to compare the benefits with is constantly changing. Changes can be gradual, or sometimes e.g. fall may cause a drastic change. This makes the timing of AMD deployment a challenge. However, reduction in medication adherence or need for support in medication administration are clear signs of timing where deployment of an AMD becomes valuable. On the other hand, when nursing time is frequently colliding with AMD’s medication moments, it may be time to consider whether AMD still delivers value. It well may still carry value, as it allows nurse to focus on non-medication related tasks while being with the client.

The problem is that by deploying proactively, we lose visibility to how much workload could be saved, and by deploying to reduce already high workload, we lose some of the value potential but retain the visibility to workload reduced. Thus, instead of focusing on measuring value, the right timing of deployment would lead to optimal value capture. If started too late, there is lost value opportunity and if deployed for too long (or too early), there is a chance for unnecessary cost. To maximize the value, deployment should happen early enough. Once the value opportunity is closing, re-deployment of the robot should be already planned to capture value with another client. In other words, the client selection process should be continuous process, based on agreed criteria and nurse assessment, instead of a one-time effort.

Client Needs Change over Time

As said, the client needs are changing over time. There are also opportunities to prolong the deployment of an AMD with an individual client, by providing more capabilities with the AMD. An example of this is the new version called Evondos Anna, which features VideoMed, ie. Video assisted medication dispensing. This addresses the need for increased support, which the nurse can offer over the video connection. Simultaneously, it can be confirmed that the client is indeed capable of taking the medication. Video call capability can additionally be used for other virtual care needs (like wellness checks), enhancing the value of technology further beyond just medication management.

Deployment and Automated Medication Dispensing Fleet Management

Recognizing the deployment opportunities and time for re-deployment with another client will optimize the use of an AMD fleet within a care organization. This will maximize the benefits from the economic point of view. However, the question is what can be used to trigger insights into potential clients for deployment and AMD users for re-deployment. Again, with this we get back to the comment stating that the client selection process is an ongoing effort.

Solutions are Different - Performance is Key

This research is solely focused on the Evondos solution. In the other words, data and experiences are based on the performance of Evondos AMDs and the support Evondos can offer. Therefore it needs to be remembered that there may be differences between reliability and performance of different technologies and companies providing the service. Different solutions may require different level of effort from maintenance and fleet management perspective.

There is a lot of food for thought in Tiitola’s article. Optimizing the time when AMD delivers most value is a relevant question, but the answer may not always be the most straightforward. Perhaps this gives a good framework, by which is easier to also define exceptions to the rules and guidelines.

This text was inspired by: Tiitola, V., Lyly-Yrjänäinen, J., Apell, M., Rönkkö, M., & Holmström, J. (2024). Value creation and retention through re-servitization: Product service system for prescription medication dispensing in homecare. Technovation. Read the whole paper at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166497224002128

Author of the blog is Marketing Director at Evondos Group.