Northwest Hospital will be harnessing a high-tech solution to a low-tech function: tracking and delivering medications to patient units in a timely and efficient manner. The hospital’s new TUG robot®, built by Pittsburgh-based Aethon, will transport medications to patient floors around the clock–and it will never need a sick day or vacation time.

Northwest will be deploying its TUG in tandem with MedEx, Aethon’s proprietary medication tracking system that uses barcode scanning, passive radio frequency identification and extensive security features. MedEx allows the hospital pharmacy to pinpoint the location of every medication while it’s en route to its destination as well as provides a complete chain-of-custody report for each delivery. The system integrates all forms of delivery, including robotic, human courier or pneumatic tube. The transaction record for each dose captures the patient’s name; nursing unit; loading time; the name of personnel loading, delivering or tubing the medication; and the time and name of the person retrieving the medication at the patient unit.  Learn more at www.aethon.com.