The Angry Pharmacist needs YOUR help!

At my old job we used "Bakers" but they seemed to like to eat pills.

Stay away from the Parada. Far away. I used to work with one, and my experiences trying to keep the damn thing going probably would qualify me to get a job as a Parada repairman.

When the Parada was working and running ok, I could fill about 30 an hour by myself working the graveyard shift. Key words -"when it was working" which was once I think. During the day they had a tech devoted to nothing but babysitting the thing. Which meant it saved them about zero minutes. The corpo-pharmacy chain I worked for eventually decided to quit buying them and started using someone else's. If I remember right the company they ended up going with started with a "Y". Good luck.

1).I have personally only used Baker Cells, which are cheaper and fine. They worked rather nicely in the pharmacy where I filled in as a temp. Script volume was same as yours, however usually only 1-2 pharmers per shift with same techs. Killer organization however with 3 work counters and defined tasks for the techs. Window, order entry, and counting wench. The pharmer sat high in the back & checked then counseled if needed. Not bad. They did the top 25 drugs only.
2).The outpatient pharmacy at the hospital I work uses Scriptpro. They like it. Compatible with the software they use. $$$ hohum.
3). Had a friend that worked with Prego, piranha, or whatever the hell it is. He hated it. I think one night he actually pissed on the motherboard.
4). Worked at one place where we used a speed wall. Top 200 drugs directly behind main fill station. We started doing a prepack thing where the top drugs we filled in common unit of use amounts 30/60, etc. Cheap and worked.
Good luck.

I love my Parata!!! I'm an overnight, so I pretty much use the parata all night long. Its a bad night when the thing is down (which thankfully has only happened to me once in a year and a half). If you get one, I can even teach you tricks on how to fix most problems without calling their help people (which I don't have access to overnight anyway) - I've become buddies with the parata tech dude and he has taught me a multitude of tricks! The only things that are annoying - Tyl#3 counts in it are not reliable, even with constant calibration, and weirdly shaped tablets won't work in the parata (no levoxyls, no clear caps like tessalon, no trapazoidal trazodones, no square polyviflors, alprazolam 2mg only when its in a good mood...)

Our store has Parata with about 3 rotating pharmacists, 6-7 techs, and about 500-600 scripts a day. When the machine is working it saves ALOT of time because it is able to fill and label the Rx. One tech is designated as Parata person to make sure all the cells are filled and the machine has vials. WHenever a vial is finished it is scanned out and placed at the counter for the pharmacist to check. Some benefits include fast filling and you can check the history to see if the medication has been scanned out. However it is a pain to set up a cell involving alot of calculations. So if you have frequent manufacturer changes for the rxs, it is a pain to format the cell. Also for some large pills, the machine has problems filling it and will do parital fills and then we would have to recount. Also because the amount of dust the machine produced, alot of the pharmacists and techs has red/watery eyes and sneezed alot until we got an air filter placed near the machine. Overall the machine is convenient but expect it to not always work and to put alot of maintenace and time into it.

Scriptpro is top. In regards to the communication piece with your Scoftware system. I've been to a lot of pharmacies with them, and I think you'll be HAPPY with it.

We have used a Scriptpro 200 for 4 years now in our pharmacy...the thing works like a charm. We have had maybe 5 days where it has been down for more than 1/2 an hour. The Sales staff is anoying but the technical support and customer service is amazing, it makes the purchase that much more useful. Coupled with the new stuff they are coming out with, its excellent. You just have to make sure you train the shit out of a tech so that they can keep it up to date. If you get it, you will not be dissapointed...damn I am starting to sound like a salesperson. If I had my own pharmacy, I would have a scriptpro...never used a Prada before so I cant comment on it much...good luck.

Walgreens uses Yuyama's.. and they work really well. But I don't know if that's an option for you? If it is, though... we all like them. They hold 200 drugs and put the labels on the vial for you.

I've worked with two different filling machines.

First one was Baker cells. Rather efficient.
Pros: holds and fills 90+ different drugs; seperate dispensing chutes; cells are easy to fill (even has shelfs beneath to hold stock bottles and whatnot).
Cons: can back up easily (example, 2 scripts for Vicodin - #30 and #20 - print out. Bakers spits out #30, then beep constantly till you take pills out of chute, then spits out #20); get dirty quickly (especially the powdery pills)

The 2nd one I've worked with (and still do now) is a Yuyama.
Pros: holds 199 drugs; greater holding capacity than Baker cells; 3 cells have separate dispensing chutes to separate drugs with common allergies (eg. we use Pen VK, SMZ/TMP, and Sulfasalazine); Yuyama dumps pills into vial and labels for you; has 15 windows to hold vials till you're ready to grab them; touch-screen computer interface (with logging feature); company doesn't require sending old cells back to get new ones (like Baker)
Cons: runs smooth untils it needs attention (needs vials, labels, ink ribbons, empty cell, pill drop); in most cases, if 1 of these problems occurs, Yuyama almost completely stops until tech/RPh fixes.

I personally like the Yuyama; it works very well in our store because I fill the whole thing when I work every Sunday (best to fill ahead, not just when it gets empty, if you ask me). In my opinion though, it usually has best benefits in higher volume stores (average volume > 350 rx/day).

I personally recommend either one of these machines, but I don't know the prices of either of these robots (machine, maintainence, replacement parts, etc.). Hope this helps!!

Stay far away from the Parata and go with Script-pro. I've worked with both, and the Script-Pro is by far the better of the two machines. The store I am currently working with has a Parata and the damn thing is a huge paper weight. It breaks down all the time, is extremely loud (sounds like a big rig letting the air out of it's brakes), and has no real work flow system to speak of. I have also worked with the script-pro bot and workflow system, and that is far superior than Parata. We've had the script-pro for nearly 4 years and with the work flow system and doing 500-600 scripts a day makes the days so much easier. The script-pro is a lot quieter, and has less breakdowns. If you want to see the system in action and are around the Bakersfield, CA area shoot me an e-mail and I can get you a contact that would be more than happy to let you see the system in action. Love the blog, and keep up the good work, Cheers.

Walgreens uses mostly Yuyama. It works really well. Some stores have the Parata. Everyone hates the Parata in comparison the the Yuyama. More repair problems than the Yuyama. I used a ScriptPro at "Tite-Aid" when I worked overnights, It was okay. It seems to need more daily care than the Yuyama. I would go with the scriptpro over the parata if Yuyama is not a choice.

We have 4 rotating pharmacists and multiple techs. RX per day is between 650-800 scripts. We use the Yuyama and it is horrible. It constantly breaks, and requires more hours of attention vs. the amount of hours it actually helps you. We all hate it. For the amount of money it costs($750,000) you can hire 1000 techs for the rest of your life, and deal with less aggravation. If you change pill manufacturers, which our company seems to do every day, you have to order a different cell to fit the pill size. This can take up to 3 months to receive. The best and most cost efficient choice is the automatic baker cells. Boy do I miss those. They are quick and easy to maintain. No they do not label the bottle, but how long does that really take? You must avoid the Yuyama at all costs, for your own sanity.

Used Baker, parata and yuyama. Only used the parata a little bit since it's not in my store...i like it....only thing is it need feeding often...vials,etc. THe good thing with parata over baker and "the beast" as i call it, is in cell management. With baker and the beast you have to wait for the cells to come to your store if you want to switch something out...parata...just a few adjustments and its switched. Yes it takes a few minutes...but i find a few minutes with the machine rather than 15 minutes on the phone with baker is a better thing.
Baker also has script software too...which when i was with the evil empire before they switched to their own proprietary garbage...worked great. It had imaging and sorting of bins by numbers for those who like organization. Baker can get log jammed like someone else was saying...where the beast and parata don't.

I work in a store that has 280-450 scripts a day with all the new stores being built around us. We have baker cells and I think they are better than the robots. I have worked with a prata and thought it was worthless. It only takes a few seconds more to walk over and get the pills out of the cells your self. If you go with a machine, stay away from the prata

Parata & Yuyama are both very efficient IF they are working. Parata sorts orders by last names whereas Yuyama goes by Rx numbers. Parata caps vials but Yuyam doesn't.

Yuyama is much easier to maintain. Easier to load labels, drugs & vials. I could load Yuyama label by myself following the machine's diagram on the first trial. Parata won't operate even you put in the label correctly if you happen to have 1 roll of label that its sensor doesn't like. One dumps vials into Yuyama compartment from the box versus manually put in vials in Parata chute one by one. Overall, Parata breaks down much more frequently than Yuyama.

This will be my second time trying to comment. You have this line in your comment options:
If you have a TypeKey identity, you can sign in to use it here.

Only if I click on that link, TypeKey informs me that you do not subscribe to that service. Why the hell is it there then?

Sorry I don't have any suggestions.

SCRIPTPRO is the fucking bomb.

I've been in stores with all three (Bakers, Scriptpro, and Parada) and Scriptpro pwns.

stay far far away from parata...
A. parata seems to develop a sudden affinity to destroy controls...you think that you are getting a prescription for lorazepam when the bottle is finally ready you discover the parata decided to grind the pills up and dispense powder instead.
B. the robotic arm has a mind of its own.. will fill a prescription start to bring it to you and then just decide to turn it upside down and dump the fucking pills into the middle of the machine...
And heres the best...if it totally malfunctions (which i pray never happens to you) it will open all the doors, release all the compressors and spit every god damn pill in the cells into the center of the machine...

good investment walgreens.....ugh!!!

I own a Parata and it by far is the best machine on the market. Had I not made the investment 2 years ago my pharmacy would not have survived. We needed to significantly grow our volume without throwing more labor at the problem. In the time we have had Parata, we more than doubled our volume without adding a person. I think it is interesting that most of the bashing comes from these chain store drones that couldn't use the bathroom without asking their boss for a lav pass. When they are through justifying their lowly existence and have the stones to be a business owner and not a worker bee, come talk to me. Back to Parata...it is the most intuitive system on the market and yes, like any complex machine, there are issues. However, most people with a grade school education (this is where chain store pharmacist will get confused) could solve the problems themselves. They also have the most knowledgeable tech support and field service in the industry, I wish my software vendor had the same! You cannot go wrong with what Parata provides and ignore the rants of misinformed chain space monkeys...they know not what they speak...

I've used them all and here's how I rank them:

1. Parata - clear leader; on-site calibration, small footprint, FAST, ACCURATE, great service when there are issues.

2. Yuyama - not bad except holds only 15 finished scripts before the machine shuts down and when you need replacement cells they are sent on a slow boat from Japan.....lame

3. ScriptPro - has been technology that is great if you like watching pills count at 1 pill per second. You're better off with a Baker Universal or Kirby Lester than this piece of shit

I currently work with the Baker Cells and I love them. I don't see the need for the prescription filling robots like the parata or the yuyama, even though the pharmacy managers in my district decided that our store needed a yuyama. I guess it will make things a little easier, but I don't see why it was so much of a hassle to walk five feet dump the pills out of the cell and slap the label on yourself. Overall, I guess we will be able to increase our script volume greatly. We currently do between 400-500 scripts a day on average. We are gonna be the first non 24 hour Walgreens in Omaha to have the yuyama. It comes in next week, so when we get it I'll let you know how I like it

R.I.P. Baker Cells

Has Anyone looked at the robot from Innovation (www.innovat.com)?

I have a ScriptPro 200 for sale. Very nice machine. Please let me know if anyone out there is looking. Before buying new consider this one, I can save you a lot of money

Yuyama-The only way to fly. Very reliable and if or when Josephine(we named her after the Yuyama service guy from Los Angeles that installed it)doesn't want to play nice support here is top notch. Just a call and I'd say about 95 % of the time the she's back up and running. The other 5 % they've been out to repair it at the drop of a hat even if we're the ones to blame. The Yuyama only uses 20 and 40 dram vials -we learned the hard way. It was a bit scary at first but when you adjust and learn how to incorporate it into the flow it's awesome. Maintenance is done with a can of compressed air and it takes less than 5 minutes to clean her every couple weeks.

Someone here in this forum mentioned the Yuyama cells coming from Japan-nowadays they're assembled here in the U.S. so the turn around is now usually 3-5 days. The Parata "adjustable" cells suck anyways so that shouldn't even be taken into consideration. Also when 15 scripts are finished it definitely does not shut down-you need to take those vials out so the others can be filled-this is what I meant by incorporating it into the flow! The Yuyama doesn't need a baby sitter either like the Parata does.

There's a Parata in the area I've had the opportunity to learn to hate. If or when it runs it's noisy which none of the sales people ever tell you about because it's got a vacuum pump. It sounds like a vacuum running when it's filling. Imagine that at a high volume pharmacy.

Parata does have some good features but what good are those features when the thing hardly works? I know a Parata guy and all he did was rip on the Yuyama "technology" for not being the latest and greatest. I'm not sure if it's true but the Yuyama is the more reliable choice.

If you were to take all(I mean all) the meds spilled on the inside of a Parata you could have one helluva party-I probably could have cured cancer with the mix of meds in the bottom of it.
Don't get me wrong though-the Yuyama has spilled inside also, but it was usually due to fill quantities you enter for each size vial. We doubled the qty for a 40 dram by mistake by accident and had smz everwhere.

Here's a quote from another pharmacist:
"It's painted white but it should have been painted brown to what it really is."

I have worked with all three systems, baker, parata, and yuyama, and all have their own benefits, I prefer the yuyama system since the company made improvements to the machine's dispensing and canister's. An earlier post that the system cost $750,000 is completely ridiculous, all three are in the similar price range.

Hi,
I am a small repair shop who repairs all of the ScriptPro keypads for a major drugstore chain. In doing so...I see alot of the same problem with the keypads. If anyone is looking for a vendor to fix these keypads... I have much experience! Send me an e-mail and I can provide you with our quote... which is significantly lower than Scriptpro charges.
thanks

I have a like new Scriptpro 200 for Sale. We purchased a company that had this but we don't need it. Price will include calibration and installation by Scriptpro. Call me if you are interested 562-228-5758.

We ordered our 3rd Parata RDS to fill the gap left when our Script Pro died (terminal this time). We are expanding to another location and will be dumping the POS Y machine (takes too long for all the replacement parts, too much downtime).

What about LTC PakMed by Parada? Anyone had any experiences?

So what did you end up with? There is something out there called ROBOTx. It's form Innovation. They've been doing automation for a while but the Robot seems new. The nice thing there is you can start with something smaller than a robot and grow as needed

It's obivous some of you are speaking out of your ass. If you can't spell the name of the robotic company that you're using, which by the way is plastered all over the robot, then I highly doubt that you've ever been around a robot. By the way, the company I'm referring to is Parata, not Parada.

I deal with the Angry Pharamcists and clones on a daily basis and I have to ask, why is the Angry Pharmacist so angry? Is it becasue his business as he knows (knew) it is crumbling down around him and he doesn't know what to do, except bitch & whine. What to do. What to do. I know, how about acting like a business owner, a business owner, not some sniveling nerd hiding behind the counter by fives.

99% of pharmacy owners, wait 99.9%, don't have a clue on how to evaluate software, automation and work flow, managing inventory or how to control their drug reps. He just bitches because he doesn't know what to do. "Boy, the business has really changes, it's not like the old days." Not shit, Poindexter. What business hasn't changed?
It's not your Daddy's pharmacy anymore!!

We have a Yuyama dispensing unit at the Walgreens I workat. It seems to work pretty good as a matter of fact, we do about 300+ RX's per day, and we have very few issues, Im not saying they don't have any, but we have yet to have a major problem with ours. The only real pain is when inventory comes around emptying all the 200 cells sucks

One thing I would urge pharmacists to consider when looking at automation options is the vial they are configuring the robot for. Please stay away from the Owens (now British owned Rexam) 1-Clic vial. It costs at least TWICE the price of any other vial and changing to another vial after the robot is delivered can cost as much as $20,000. Some machines like Automed can only accept this vial making them a bad choice for anyone. As an example 500 scripts per day with an Automed R800 configured with 1 Clic vial, you will spend over $71,489 in vials per year. If you chose a ScriptPro SP 200 or 300 configured with Pharmacy-Lite reversible vial you would spend $23,557 per year... a net savings of $47,931. This is a real savings to consider. If any one has any questions about vial compatability and want real answers about vial choices feel free to e-mail me seanb@kellnet.com

Folks who read this, keep in mind Parata just started selling RDS units back in late 05, I'm pretty sure. The 06 commenters were early adopters. Seems like the 07 commenters are a lot happier with their Paratas and it's just getting better.

Anyway, all I know is I've seen some at tradeshows and they look pretty slick (I realize tradeshow models don't suffer from downtime, etc, usually). The ScriptPro looked slow in comparison. If I can manage to scrape up the cash (smaller pharmacy here), I'll probably look into Parata first.

We were apparently one of the early adopters of the Parata system. The first few months were indeed a bit painful. As someone else pointed out, when the thing worked it was great, but at that time you just never knew what to expect. We went through periods where I wondered what we had gotten ourselves into.

After some time, many tech support encounters, and some learning experiences for us, things really settled down. The growth that followed ultimately resulted in our looking into automation at our other location. At that point I had no hesitation to order another Parata. It did not seem to need anywhere near as much as the first one did initially. The smoother experience with the second machine could be partially due to technical refinements, or due to the fact we had already overcome the initial learning curve. If we opened another store today I would go with Parata again.