Pharmacy automation considerations

The three major areas of concern which impact the automation of today's hospital pharmacy send a clear message to vendors. The message is that vendors need to offer an integrated pharmacy management system on the hospital's central computer to offer significant department functionality. The system must have a consistent fit into the technological direction of information systems at the hospital. Such a system provides the ability to gather and access information for numerous hospital departments to support the delivery of high quality clinical care and to support the decision-making process. This provides the hospital the best chance to compete effectively. The hospital's objective must continue to be the main thrust of software development efforts.