The central pharmacy supplying the three new hospitals of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) at Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City is one of the most technologically-advanced hospital pharmacies in the Middle East. The pharmacy supplies medication to Qatar Rehabilitation Institute, the Women’s Wellness and Research Centre, and the Ambulatory Care Centre.
The three hospitals were formally opened by HH the Emir, in December 2017, and now deliver care to over 40,000 patients each week. Last week, the new hospitals recognised a milestone, having delivered care to more than 310,000 patients since it started operations last year.
Dr Moza Al Hail, Executive Director of Pharmacy at HMC said that the central pharmacy provides state-of-the-art storage, dispensing, and distribution of medication for a full spectrum of patient needs. This includes medication for a mother following the delivery of her baby, a patient recovering a day after surgery, or a patient under rehabilitation continuing their healing journey.
State-of-the-Art Dispensing Process
The pharmacy’s advanced technology provides secure high-density storage of medications while also controlling access to a wide range of medicines. Multiple operator stations allow pharmacists to retrieve medication at the same time, with barcode technology and password-protected systems helping enhance operational efficiencies and reduce the risk of medication errors. In addition to ensuring safe medication storage, the technology within the central pharmacy automates the dispensing process.
An advanced feature of our system is its ability to repackage all medication into unit dose pouches. The pouches contain all the required information for safely dispensing medication and medical administration.’
The dispensing system, which includes a state-of-the-art IV robot, also eliminates many manual steps that may otherwise be required during the medication dispensing process. By doing so, the potential for error is greatly reduced, according to Dr Al Hail.
Once the medication is safely dispensed, it can be transferred manually by motor carts or automatically by a pneumatic tube system, depending on the type, quantity, and urgency. The pneumatic tube system is made up of five zones of tubes, each originating in the central pharmacy and ending in various units within the three new hospitals. The tube network supplies all inpatient wards as well as outpatient pharmacies and guarantees fast and safe transportation of medication.
An enormous amount of time and care has been invested in the design and structure of the pharmacy to ensure that we are able to not only meet the high demand that comes from supplying medication to three hospitals but to also do so in the safest, most efficient, and timely manner possible.’
In addition to a number of smart technologies adopted to decrease wait times, a number of other practices have been implemented at the Medical City Hospital’s central pharmacy to increase patient satisfaction, including a queue management system and satellite pharmacy with a dispensing robot.
For more information about the various services at HMC, visit their website at hamad.qa.