LAUSR

ivity in items packed per person per hour increased. Patient’s waiting time and prescription filling time decreased, but did not translate to changes in staff perception of workload or time spent filling prescriptions. Some cost savings (pharmacy expenditure & labor cost) and an increase in over-the-counter sales were noted. Perception of work stress seemed to be decreased despite satisfaction level being unchanged post-automation. Conclusion: Implementing pharmacy automation technologies in an outpatient or community pharmacy setting reduces medication error, increases productivity in settings fulfilling certain criteria, but does not affect job satisfaction. When deciding processes to automate, due considerations in prescription load, degree of order customization and context of practice should be given to ensure maximum benefit and cost effectiveness of implementation.