What are some of the advantages of point-of-use dispensing over traditional medication dispensing? ...

Point-of-use dispensing has several advantages over traditional manual dispensing. It shortens the time between the order for a medication and its delivery to the patient. Automating drug distribution improves patient care in other ways. Drugs are more likely to be administered on schedule, and significantly fewer doses are missed. Although apparently not reducing dispensing errors to zero, like centralized robotic systems claim to do, one study found that a decentralized system decreased dispensing errors by almost one-third. Decentralized computerized drug delivery has a positive financial impact for the hospital as well, making it more likely that patients are charged for the medications used. It also decreases the time nurses spend on medication-related activities, such as counting controlled substances, charting, documentation, and billing.