New ADUs add safety and increase efficiency because of you!

ADUs ensure patients get medications safely and efficiently

Every year nearly 1.5 million doses of medication are distributed from the central pharmacy at Brightshores Owen Sound Hospital. That much medication has to be distributed safely and efficiently. The best way to do that is with Automatic Dispensing Units (ADUs).

An ADU is a high tech storage cabinet that’s essential to care. It’s a futuristic vending machine that’s hyper focused on patient safety. It’s a detail oriented tracking system that will only release what you need.

Operating an ADU is very simple. Staff sign into the machine using their fingerprint, select a specific patient and the ADU will use lights to guide them to the only drawer that’s unlocked. That drawer contains the specific medication the patient needs. Any high risk drug also has to be scanned with a barcode scanner – this is an extra layer of safety that will be more widely used with the new machines.

Each ADU is stocked by the amaizng team at the central pharmacy. Inventory and usage is tracked carefullly to ensure that every unit has what they need when they need it. This is especially important in places like the emergency department or the ICU where you might need a medication very quickly.

With the help of incredible donors – Brightshores was able to buy six new ADU’s for the Owen Sound Hospital. They are located in the Crisis Support Program, Emergency Department, Inpatient Mental Health Unit, Inpatient Surgery, Medicine Floor and the Rehab Unit. This is part of a bigger project replacing the ADUs all across Brightshores Health System.

It doesn’t look inside your body or monitor your vitals. It can’t diagnose anything and you won’t see it in an operating room. But an ADU is an essential part of care. Donors are helping to ensure that every single patient gets the medications that they need safely and efficiently – and that is something to be celebrated!