Cost-effectiveness analysis of a unit dose dispensing robot in Thailand.
Background: Medication errors can lead to serious consequences, including adverse drug events and even death. To reduce medication errors, many hospitals have implemented medication-dispensing technologies, including the Unit Dose Dispensing Robot (UDRs). However, no studies in Thailand have evaluat...
| Published in: | Pharmacy Practice (1886-3655) Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 1 - 8 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
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Centro de Investigaciones y Publicaciones Farmaceuticas S.L.
Jan-Mar2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=193552777&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 193552777 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 1885642X 3EAU jtl: Pharmacy Practice (1886-3655) issn: 1885642X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jan-Mar2026 vid: 24 iid: 1 pid: 36266 pub: Centro de Investigaciones y Publicaciones Farmaceuticas S.L. artinfo: ui: 193552777 193552777 193552777 10.18549/PharmPract.2026.1.3414 193552777 ppf: 1 ppct: 7 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Cost-effectiveness analysis of a unit dose dispensing robot in Thailand. aug: au: Getupook, Vittanee Klubfang, Supichaya Atthapak, Monchaya Plangsanguan, Attaya Yomsiri, Manchuporn Luksameesate, Parnnaphat affil: Pharmacist, Department of Pharmaceutical, Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand sug: subj: Medication Systems Economics Robotics Cost Effectiveness Analysis Medication Errors Prevention and Control Human Funding Source Thailand Descriptive Statistics Cost Savings ab: Background: Medication errors can lead to serious consequences, including adverse drug events and even death. To reduce medication errors, many hospitals have implemented medication-dispensing technologies, including the Unit Dose Dispensing Robot (UDRs). However, no studies in Thailand have evaluated the costs and medication errors associated with UDRs. Objective: To conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of the adoption of UDRs in comparison to traditional manual dispensing methods, focusing on costs and the reduction of medication errors. Method: Cost and medication error data were obtained from the database of a tertiary hospital in Thailand between 2017 and 2022. Medication errors were measured as the difference in error occurrence before and after UDR implementation. Cost components included labor costs, material costs, and the capital cost of UDRs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated as the incremental cost per avoided medication error. One-way sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the impact of uncertainty in individual parameters on the results. Results: UDR implementation reduced wrong-drug, wrong-dose, and medication mix-up errors by 201, 62, and 6.33 events, respectively. Overall, UDRs prevented 269.34 medication errors annually at an incremental cost of 64,883.10 United States Dollars (USD), resulting in an ICER of 240.90 USD per avoided medication error. One-way sensitivity analysis indicated that the cost of medications after implementing the UDRs had the greatest influence on ICER variability, while labor costs after UDR implementation had the least impact. Conclusions: Implementing UDRs resulted in higher initial costs due to investments in infrastructure, technology, and labor; however, it significantly reduced medication errors. This evidence can be utilized to inform decision-makers in investing in automatic drug dispensers, promoting patient safety and increasing the efficiency of hospital medication dispensing systems in Thailand. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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