Automating Community Pharmacy Workflows: The Impact of RPA on Operational Efficiency and Patient Care

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) on operational efficiency, error reduction, and patient care within community pharmacies. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, we evaluated four key pharmacy workflows – automated prescription dispensation, inventory management, patient follow-up, and medication ordering – across 12 pharmacies. Quantitative data were collected through structured questionnaires (N = 120) and performance measurements (e.g., processing times in minutes per transaction), while qualitative insights were gathered via semi-structured interviews and direct observations. The findings reveal that RPA implementation reduced prescription dispensation time by 67% (from 15 to 5 minutes), medication ordering time by 83% (from 60 to 10 minutes), and patient follow-up time by 80% (from 40 to 8 minutes), with a corresponding increase in patient engagement of 66.7%. Survey data indicate a positive outlook among pharmacy personnel – 78% believe RPA can enhance efficiency and 75% are ready to adopt it, provided that comprehensive training and support are available. Despite these promising outcomes, challenges such as system integration complexity and financial constraints were identified. Based on these results, a structured RPA implementation framework is proposed, emphasizing comprehensive training, phased deployment, seamless integration, and active stakeholder engagement. Overall, this study underscores RPA’s potential to transform pharmacy operations, enabling a shift toward more patient-centered care while highlighting the need for strategic change management to ensure long-term success.