Via Christi's 'Robot Pharmacists' first of their kind in Kansas'

When it comes to your medicine, perfection is critical. That’s why Via Christi says it is moving to its new robotic IV drug compounding system.

"The most important reason that we want to use the new technology is for patient safety," said Via Christi Senior Director of Pharmacy, Jim Garrelts.

Garrelts says the new system will be safer for patients, and save time and money.

He says hospitals often use outside compounding companies for certain drugs, meaning specific medicines and measurements can be difficult to obtain, and keep.

“We don't to even obtain drugs from other places if we don't have to. We want to control it right here at Via Christi," Garrelts says.

And because the hospital won’t have to rely on people thousands of miles away for the critically needed IV medications, Garrelts says patients can expect a safer drug.

"We want to really take humans out of the equation as much as we can as we produce these sterile products that are going to go right into the vein of our patients," Garrelts says.

The two machines used by the hospital carefully mix and measure the medicines which will be used locally for Via Christi, and throughout its entire medical system.

Garrelts Shelf life on these drugs can be only days, creating shortages. But he projects with the precise nature of the new machines that shelf life can go from days, to months.

Garrelts says the robots won't replace any humans at the hospital, but instead give the people already there a new tool.

“What we hope to do is just re-allocate our people to more productive uses to save patient's lives," he says.

Uses like compounding pills, or evaluating patients more quickly.

The roughly $1 million project is now up and running, with the first medicine produced Monday… being used on Tuesday.