CASE STUDY
noritsu-rx.com
THE END RESULT – EFFICIENCY AND SCALABILITY
“We knew from our research that Noritsu was the most efficient and cost-effective solution, even
before we started working with them,” says Powers. Now that they’ve been using the system for a
year, she says it’s far exceeded our expectations. “We’ve reduced labor by 15% and cut production
time for multidose cycles by 66%.”
Noritsu’s automation is so simple to use that anyone can be trained to use it. “We can pull anyone
from the pharmacy if we’re shorthanded – like someone from my billing team – and teach them
how to use the system in a day.” The system also gives them a great deal of data for measuring their
progress, including how many pouches they’re filling each day and for how many patients, what the
pouch check rate is and what they spend on supplies.
Even with all the added efficiency and accuracy, Powers and Thomas agree that what sets Noritsu
apart for them is the customer support. “We just fill in a customer support ticket online along with
the issue’s priority,” Thomas describes. “We normally get a call within 10 minutes!” If a technician
visit is necessary, Noritsu gets someone onsite the next day. “What’s nice about this system, though,
is that it’s so user-friendly,” Thomas continues. “So most of the time, a technician can troubleshoot
to help us solve the problem over the phone or FaceTime.” As a result, she says they rarely see a
technician outside of regular preventative maintenance, and they seldom have downtime anymore.
“The people who work at Noritsu are awesome.”
LOOKING AHEAD FOR MEDICINE EXPRESS
In the midst of all this, Medicine Express upgraded their software as well. That means over the
course of less than five years – they implemented new automation, upgraded that automation
again, added a visual verification system, grew from 300 to 2,700 beds and installed a new software
platform. And they aren’t done yet, Powers says. While they no longer have a retail counter, retail
and long-term care at home clients with higher medication needs have been coming to them based
on recommendations from existing patients. They’ve also been exploring working with correctional
pharmacies. “Regardless of what’s next for us, I know that with Noritsu’s automation, visual
verification, and support in place, we’ll be able to scale and grow at any pace.” Added to that, Powers
says Medicine Express now has a strong automation team in place with Pharmacist Alex Dow and
Certified Pharmacy Technicians, Cody Boswell, Kathy Frazier, and Jody Munyon. Rounding out the
team is a family affair – with Powers’s sister, Thomas, cousin Mikey Crotty, and mother Liz Thomas,
who all joined the pharmacy to help during COVID-19 and have stayed on to contribute to its growth.
“
What’s nice about
this system, though,
is that it’s so user-
friendly. So most
of the time, a
technician can
troubleshoot to help
us solve the problem
over the phone or
FaceTime.”
Carly Thomas
Automation Lead Technician
~ Medicine Express