REPORT SCOPE
INTRODUCTION
STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
This BCC Research report, Pharmacy Automation: Technologies and Global Markets (IAS026B), provides a comprehensive analysis of the pharmacy automation market’s current operations and equipment, current trends, and detailed patent analysis. The study includes information regarding statistics for medication errors, costs associated with pharmacy activities, the pharmacist shortage, and many other issues affecting the pharmacy automation market. Major pharmacy automation product segments include in-depth market and competitive analyses.
REASONS FOR DOING THE STUDY
Although pharmacy automation dates back to the 1970s with the introduction of pill-counting machines, the pharmacy automation market continues to advance and deliver impressive technology and improve efficiency. The increasing demand for accuracy, safety, industry standards, and competency in the pharmacy environment by regulatory authorities, manufacturers, healthcare professionals, and consumers has forced the growth of this market.
New opportunities in various settings will continue to surface—from small, private, family-owned pharmacies to large hospital and mail-order service facilities, such as Medco Health Solutions, Inc. Many small, private pharmacies are still conducting operations through manual and semi-manual methods, particularly in regions outside of the United States. The opportunity to fully automate these pharmacies surfaces more often each year, and with a growing compliance with bar-coding standards and new tracking capabilities with RFID technology, this trend will continue to increase at a rapid rate. A large portion of inpatient facilities are already highly automated; however, there are advancements in technology and performance improvements every year, and these pharmacies will continue to seek out the most efficient system to upgrade to. In order to remain competitive in the pharmaceutical dispensing business, organizations will be highly dependent on efficient automation systems. Therefore, upgrades are likely to be an ongoing process.
SCOPE OF REPORT
This BCC report is designed to be a helpful business tool that will provide a thorough evaluation of the global pharmacy automation market. The geographical scope is global with special emphasis on the United States/Canada and the European Union, with supplemental data covering other geographical markets and trends. The report identifies pharmacy automation markets by inpatient and outpatient pharmacy settings, and by product type. Within the global pharmacy automation market, there are two general pharmacy settings, each having other subsettings:
- Inpatient pharmacy automation
- Acute-care settings
- Long-term care settings
- Outpatient pharmacy automation
- Outpatient/fast-track clinical settings
- Hospital retail settings
- Pharmacy benefit management services and other mail-order settings
- Retail pharmacy chains
Each segment is further extrapolated to provide detailed information of current and emerging products, current market estimates and market forecasts, and competitive analyses.
METHODOLOGY
The information for this BCC report was obtained through primary and secondary data-collection methods. Primary methods included interviews with approximately 50 key executives, product managers, and clinical specialists involved in the pharmacy automation industry. Secondary methods included published literature in the area of pharmacy technology and services, investment reports, company literature, and various pharmacy-related business journals.
All market data pertains the global market at the manufacturers’ level. Data is expressed in current U.S. dollars. The base year of the report is 2010, with historical data provided for 2008 and 2009, and forecast data provided for 2015. Historical base year and forecast data are provided for each market segment of the report. Competitor market share estimates are provided for each market segment for the 2010 base year.
Although this study provides information on a variety of pharmacy automation equipment, it does not include a comprehensive list of products available. Many companies offer products to a variety of industry types, including, but not limited to, the following industries:
- Appliance industry
- Aircraft industry
- Automotive industry
- Electrical and electronics industry
- Communications industry
- Food production industry
Some systems not covered in this study include those that are primarily used in other industry types, but are, however, designed to accommodate other settings, including the medical and pharmacy industries.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Elder is an experienced healthcare market analyst specializing in prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and emerging healthcare technologies. Ms. Elder has more than 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry, specializing in market research for the past 12 years. This experience has given her substantial insights into pharmaceutical market analysis. Her work in the medical community, including emergency room medical training and healthcare information system coordination, has enhanced her ability to provide insight into many healthcare markets.
BCC RESEARCH ONLINE SERVICES
BCC Research offers an online information retrieval service. Its home page, located at www.bccresearch.com, enables readers to:
- Examine the BCC Research complete catalog of Business Opportunity Reports and place direct orders
- Subscribe to any of BCC Research’s many industry newsletters
- Read announcements of recently published reports and newly launched newsletters
- Register for its well-known conferences
- Request additional information on any BCC research product
- Take advantage of special offers.
Disclaimer
This publication provides informative material of a professional nature. It does not constitute managerial, legal, or accounting advice, nor should it serve as a corporate policy guide or an endorsement of any given product or company. This information is intended to be as accurate as possible at the time it was written and was undertaken on a best effort basis.
The views expressed are those of the author, and they do not make any warranty, express or implied, for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the information, or for the interpretation of data, or its use by others. Projections involve risks and uncertainties and are not limited to, but include, technical risks associated with technology development, government regulatory approvals, and access to capital. The author assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages that might result because of reliance on this material.
