Apostore succeded in South Africa

Together with UTI Pharma, South Africa´s leading Pharmaceutical healthcare distributer, Apostore has launched the country´s first automated "dispenser-in-a-pharmacy" in a move that could help pharmacies reduce costs by up to 25%.

The Apostore 1000 model has been installed in Prospur Pharmacy n Plumstead, Cape Town, and is being introduced to the Pharma community after a successful "proof of concept" trial period. The Apostore 1000 is one of a number of automated dispensing machines being tested by UTI Pharma for introduction into the Pharmacy market.

UTI Pharma CEO Holger Eckholdt said the UTI Pharma Maxi (UTI name for Apostore 1000) had been introduced as a part of UTI Pharma's ongoing strategy of supporting and assisting independent pharmacy to become the backbone of the country´s healthcare delivery in line with the government charter of making medicine more accessible.

Prospur Pharmacy owner Brian Thomas said the trial periode confirmed he and his staff could spend more time with customers rather than looking through shelves for medication. The system allows for much more greater accuracy with dispensing as it avoids mixing products with names or boxes that look similar to other products. In addition, expiry dates are managed and short dated stock can be targeted before expiry. This is all done mechanically and no additional staff time is required.     

Specially for the South Africa market Apostore has developed a software feature for broken pack handling.