Purpose: The proceedings of an international summit on the current and desired future state of use of robotic systems to compound intravenous (IV) solutions are summarized.
Summary: The International IV Robotics Summit was held at the Cleveland Clinic main campus in Cleveland, OH, on April 29 and 30, 2019. The purpose of the summit was 2-fold: (1) to define the current state of robotic IV compounding and (2) to develop a guide for automation companies, pharmacy departments, and drug manufacturers to improve the technology and expand the use of IV robotics in health systems in the future. The first day of the summit included 45-minute presentations by each of the speakers. Each lecturer recounted a different hospital's experience implementing and using IV robotics. On day 2 of the summit, an expert panel dedicated to mapping the future of IV robotics was convened to determine barriers to widespread adoption of IV robotics in health systems and offer potential solutions to remove these barriers. The expert panel targeted 3 specific audiences: robot manufacturers, drug manufacturers, and fellow pharmacy leaders.
Conclusion: It is the hope of the international faculty that the information that emerged from the summit can be used by others to successfully implement IV compounding robotics in their sterile products areas to maximize patient safety. The summit also served as a call to action for pharmacy leaders, drug manufacturers, and robotic companies to develop a safer, more efficient future for patients by working together to optimize the development and operation of IV robotics.
Keywords: compounding; intravenous medications; medication safety; robotic technology; robots.
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