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Robot Pharmacists
Makarand writes "The next time you visit a pharmacy your prescription may be filled by a robot according to a
TechTV article. Hospitals and drugstores are now increasingly relying on automated technology to count, bottle, and label prescription drugs in a faster and more accurate way. The technology uses a bar-code system similar to those used to read prices in grocery stores. Doctors enter prescription details directly into the pharmacy computer. The robot springs into action when an order is recieved. Riding on a conveyor belt, the robot picks up an empty vial, identifies the bar code of the chosen drug, and automatically fills the drug bottle."
The robot is less likely to make that mistake than humans.
Great.
*boop* Milk, 2% - $2.69...
*boop* pretzel sticks - $1.39...
*boop* ... ??? *boop* ... ??? *boop* *boop* *boop* ...??? "Just a moment, sir..."
*skreeeeeeee* "PRICE CHECK ON 200MG TYLAMANEX ANTIDIURETIC INCONTINENCE AID(-id-id-id)!!!??? PRICE CHECK ON 200MG TYLAMANEX ANTIDIURETIC INCONTINENCE AID(-id-id-id-id)!!!???"
And thats how we are already doing it in the rest of the world.
Feel welcome to join us, USA.
The point of pharmacists should be obvious. You NEED to study for four years to understand the kind of handwriting they have to read to get you the right bottle.
One the one hand, the robot will probably count faster than old Mr. Mulligan at my local drug store, so I'll get my prescription in 5 minutes instead of 30 minutes.
On the other hand, the robot will probably count more accurately than old Mr. Mulligan, so I won't get the extra 5 or 10 pills that always seem to end up in my prescription bottle.
Mr. Mulligan counting: "15... 20... 25... 30... 25... 30... 35... I think they're making these bottles smaller. I remember when one of these would hold 50 pills... Damn Koreans! I fought a war so we could have decent sized pill bottles..."
I just hope they wait until he croaks before giving the robot his job. He's like 90 or something, it shouldn't be long.
SCENE: Gower's Pharmacy, Bedford Falls
...aww, screw this, I'm going to Martini's.
George Bailey: Mr. Gower?
Mr. Gower: Zzzz...ehh, whuzza meh damn kid...
George: Uh, you put the wrong pills in the vial...
Mr. Gower: Uh? Ehh, aska drugbot, mumble mumble.
George: M-mister Drugbot?
DrugBot3000: SLEEP MODE
George: You, you put the wrong pills in the bottle...
DrugBot3000: INVALID COMMAND, PLEASE REPEAT YOUR REQUEST
George: I said, you put the wrong pills in the bottle.
DrugBot3000: INVALID COMMAND, PLEASE REPEAT YOUR REQUEST
George: The pills! You put bad medicine in the bottle!
DrugBot3000: INVALID COMMAND, PLEASE REPEAT YOUR REQUEST
George: Why, you're nothing but a big fraud!
DrugBot3000: ENTERING SLEEP MODE
Gower: Zzzzz....
George:
Does this mean hand-writing-recognition has reached a huge milestone to actually understand what the doctor writes?
I hope they get 'robot insurance,' I recall an ad where it was proven robots attack people to get their perscription drugs - which is what they run on....
"Enjoy what you're doing! If it becomes drudgery, you're doing it wrong!" - Jim Butterfield
The other day my wife said, "Go into pharmacology. They can't outsource that to East Indians because the actual pills are over here."
On the right we have robots, on the left we have $2/hour outsourcing, and in the middle we have PHB's.