Eyecon Tabletop Automation Solution Improves Prescription Filling Time and Accuracy at Lakeview Pharmacy

MINNETONKA, MN, February 15, 2011 (Press-News.org) Lakeview Pharmacy, a privately owned pharmacy in Racine, Wisconsin, employs the Eyecon tabletop automation solution by Avery Weigh-Tronix to fill prescriptions at high speed--and with high accuracy. Eyecon is a prescription validation, counting and filling system designed to improve filling accuracy, customer safety and inventory management.

"Prior to Eyecon, we would hand-count all prescriptions, which can be time-consuming for large orders," said Tiffany McWhorter, pharmacy technician at Lakeview. "Eyecon has expedited and improved the accuracy of our fill counts, and it serves as a convenient backup for prescriptions that must be double-counted."

The system consists of a camera mounted above the counting tray that captures photo images of the pills as the user pours them from a stock bottle. With five images captured each second, Eyecon counts poured pills within 200 ms and updates the pill count with each image taken--delivering a field-tested accuracy of nearly 100 percent. The system additionally recognizes and identifies tablet fragments and foreign materials on the platter.

"With some tabletop automation solutions, pills are counted based upon weight alone, which can be influenced by something as minor as a change in atmosphere," said Bob McFarlane, Eyecon account manager at Avery Weigh-Tronix. "Eyecon takes a visual assessment of the filling process and not only counts pills with higher accuracy, but it also accurately distinguishes among pills that differ in size and shape."

Eyecon has also simplified inventory at Lakeview Pharmacy. The system's inventory mode utilizes an accumulation function that allows users to scan and count all pills within a stock bottle. If the counting tray reaches capacity during this process, it can be emptied so that counting may be resumed. The records of each transaction performed can be exported to a USB jump drive and imported into a spreadsheet for simple inventory management and reporting--making Eyecon a comprehensive tool for pharmacies of all sizes.

"By using Eyecon for inventory as well as filling prescriptions," McWhorter added, "we've been able to verify our stock more efficiently and increase our ordering accuracy."

To read the full story, visit www.eyeconvpc.com. Learn more about Lakeview Pharmacy at www.lakeviewpharmacy.com.

Avery Weigh-Tronix is a pioneer in the design and manufacture of innovative precision electronic weighing devices and control systems. GSE, a member of the Avery Weigh-Tronix Group, designs and manufactures countertop automation for pill counting and Rx validation in retail pharmacy operations, including the machine vision-based Eyecon system. For further information, visit https://www.eyeconvpc.com. Phone: (866) 260-6540. Fax: (313) 253-1301. Email: Eyecon@awtxglobal.com.

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