Galluzzo's Pharmacy, Riverwood, Sydney, NSW

How to provide easy and efficient simultaneous access to dispensary stock for both

• over the counter dispensing and
• DAA dispensing

is a major workflow issue for dispensary design.

Pharmacist Sam Galluzzo with the two Carrousel 110
in his dispensary

Sam Galluzzo solved the problem when refitting his pharmacy at Riverwood. The pharmacy is in the Riverwood shopping strip with a frontage of only 4.2 metres. Thus there was limited space for front of shop stock, over the counter dispensing, and dispensing for over 700 DAA patients and storage.

Two 110cm diameter Carrousel units were designed into the narrow dispensary space, as the 4.2 metre width would not allow the larger 180 cm diameter Carrousel to be used.

The Carrousels were placed in the middle of the dispensary, thus allowing dispensing benches around the walls. The length and area of the dispensing bench are 13.7 linear metres and 8.25 square metres.

DIAGRAM 1 Layout of the dispensary with Carrousels in the middle and dispensary benches around the walls

Each Carrousel has the capacity to store 475 products in single facings which amounts to about 2,400 items. The plan of the design is provided in Diagram 1.

The design allows up to six persons to be dispensing at once with all having access to the dispensary stock with a simple turn of the Carrousel shelf. The Carrousel brings the stock to the person dispensing, compared to the dispensary person having to walk to the stock in a straight shelf dispensary.

According to Sam Galluzzo, once the dispensary team became familiar with the new process, dispensary workflows are more efficient. Storage capacity on the Carrousel was sufficient to hold the required levels of stock and the sloping shelves gravity feed the oldest product to the front of the shelves thus adding to the dispensary efficiencies.

Sam Galluzzo said that Sintek Australia's on time delivery and efficient installation of the Carrousel started the excellent service the Carrousels provide, and that, in the space available, no other stock storage system could provide the efficiencies that Carrousel does.

The above information was published in the Australian Journal of Pharmacy, February 2010, p49