NHS Hospital pharmacy services have been identified as playing a key role in the modernisation of healthcare. The general systems for provision of the pharmaceutical elements of a patient's admission and inpatient care have remained largely unchanged over the past 20 years although the nature of an inpatient episode of care has changed dramatically. Hospital episodes are now characterised by intensive treatment, a short length of stay, early discharge and high levels of bed occupancy. Pharmaceutically there has been an increase in the number and complexity of medicines used to treat patients. The delivery of pharmaceutical care is consequently undergoing a major period of modernisation with the aim of making service provision "patient-centred" rather than the traditional "product-centred" approach. In this model, Pharmacy is taking greater control of medicines management throughout hospitals and Primary Care and thus a more active role in the delivery of pharmaceutical care directly to the patient.

The emerging model for patient's medicines management in hospitals is based around greater involvement of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians at ward level and in key patient admission areas such as A&E, MAU and surgical pre-admission clinics along with modified systems of supply based on the concept of "Dispensing for Discharge" or "One-Stop Dispensing" which use a combination of patients own drugs (PODs) and hospital dispensed 28 day patient packs. This approach has demonstrated higher quality of care for patients treated with medicines, better management of risk through rational, cost-effective and evidence-based use of medicines in both primary and secondary care sectors.

The model, and its ensuing benefits, is well accepted and seen as fundamental to the re-engineering of hospital pharmacy services proposed within the NHS Plan, the NHS Plan for Pharmacy, National Service Framework for Older People and A Spoonful of Sugar; the Audit Commission report into medicines management in NHS Hospitals.

Automated dispensing systems (ADS) are becoming more and more common in UK hospital pharmacies and are increasingly being seen as underpinning the modernisation of hospital pharmacies, removing pharmacists from the repetitive unskilled nature of dispensing activities, enabling them focus on direct patient care. The following are exerts from national policy documents that have recommended that hospitals implement automation.

The introduction of technology such as dispensing automation offers the opportunity for pharmacy services to more effectively focus efforts on meeting the medication needs of individual patients. Using automation to facilitate the routine supply aspects of medicines management, frees staff to undertake more advanced and rewarding roles allowing pharmacy to improve patient care by optimising treatment with medicines, increasing efficiency and reducing errors.

However maximum benefits from Automation will only be delivered if the entire pharmacy supply process is carefully considered and re-designed. The Analyzer Toolkit process modelling software is being used to assist Trusts in establishing cost-effective process re-engineering supported by appropriate staffing models and can in the production of robust and appropriate business cases. Through an accurate cost analysis of current and proposed processes and evaluating the financial impact of change Analyzer Toolkit can assist Trusts in establishing the optimum service delivery model. Working through the software's hierarchy enables a department to consider all aspects of the service that affect the actual cost of the Pharmaceutical supply process and how changing the process impacts on both costs and service delivery.