The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University is using an automated robotic system to prepare IVs and single-use syringe medications for inpatients. This makes the hospital the first children’s hospital in Tennessee to implement the technology.
Two new “i.v STATION” robots are now able to ensure that quality medications are efficiently produced in-house in a fully enclosed sterile environment to protect the health of the patient. They were installed as part of a six month renovation and upgrade to Children’s Hospital’s inpatient pharmacy. Children’s Hospital is one of a small group of hospitals across the country investing in this technology and one of only three in the Southeast.
According to Elizabeth Humphreys, PharmD, Director of Pharmacy at Children’s Hospital, “a significant amount of compounding is done in pediatrics because the doses that are packaged by manufacturers are for adults but not for babies or for children. The robots will enable us to perform the dilution process without much manual manipulation.”
Humphreys noted, “The robot is able to make a product that is labeled with a bar code without a person touching it which is a tremendous safety feature.” It’s all about safety and consistency. The robot doesn’t sneeze and doesn’t come into the building with particles on clothes which means that the risk of contamination is very low.”
For more information, go to www.childrenshospital.vanderbilt.org or email Christina.echegaray@vanderbilt.edu.