Market Statistics
| Study Period | 2019 - 2030 |
| 2024 Market Size | USD 6981.9 Million |
| 2030 Forecast | USD 10337.7 Million |
| Growth Rate (CAGR) | 6.8% |
| Largest Region | North America |
| Fastest Growing Region | Asia-Pacific |
| Nature of the Market | Fragmented |
Pharmacy Automation Market Size
Market Size Comparison
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Pharmacy Automation Market Future Prospects
The global pharmacy automation market was valued at USD 6,981.9 million in 2024, which is expected to reach USD 10,337.7 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.8% during 2024–2030.
The entire healthcare industry is under massive pressure due to an increase in the number of injuries and fatalities caused by errors in medical prescriptions. Pharmacists and healthcare providers both are on the lookout for more-precise and -effective technologies, to curtail such errors. In addition, as the number of patients and visitors increases and their individual safety requirements diversify, the pharmaceutical delivery system becomes more complex every day. The most-efficient instruments in addressing this significant issue are presently the automated ones, as they aim to minimize patient safety risks and cut down on prescription error rates. Thus, the installation of such platforms assists chemists and healthcare service providers in reducing revenue and life losses and increasing productivity.
In addition, the increasing emphasis on automation to cut labor costs and the rising demand for specialized drugs are the primary factors driving the overall growth. Additionally, pharmacy automation firms are growing their footprint in emerging economies, in an effort to seize new opportunities.
Automation has increased the industry's profitability, while simultaneously increasing its efficiency tenfold. It has also significantly decreased the amount of drugs wasted, which has reduced the cost per dose. Additionally, it has made workflow management simple for pharmacists, while increasing patient satisfaction.
The cost of prescription pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter medicines has soared in recent years. The wastage of pharmaceuticals in hospitals and pharmacies is an additional expense, and the amount of wasted pharmaceuticals has been steadily rising. Therefore, automation in the retail pharmacy field has helped cut these expenses by minimizing the amount of viable and expired medication that is wasted.
Essentially, the technological developments in the sector have resulted in much lower inventory management costs, less medication loss, lower cost per dose, and improved patient safety. Automated dispensing units, automated patient CRM, tele-pharmacy, drug monitoring programs, and medication reminders have all significantly aided in streamlining industry processes and lowering the costs associated with pharmaceutical wastage or improper disposal.
This technology in the retail dispensary industry has existed for quite a while; robotic distribution has been raising the number of prescriptions correctly dispensed, while reducing the spending on training pharmacy staff. Although adding automated systems may be expensive up front, the substantial savings after streamlining the workflow make them feasible.
Furthermore, coronavirus spread has created a window of opportunity for the companies operating in this domain. Robotic pharmacies were popular due to the measures implemented by governments to prevent the spread of the infection. Additionally, due to the considerable rise in prescription volumes and the manpower shortages on account of the movement restrictions and social distancing norms, these systems helped meet the growing needs during the pandemic's peak. The mentioned elements have made a great contribution to the industry expansion during the pandemic.
Pharmacy Automation Market Trends & Drivers
Developing Nations To Create Lucrative Opportunities
The sector is expected to grow more rapidly in emerging economies, which have a substantial elderly population. Further, the rate at which the population aging is escalating is much higher than in the past. According to the WHO, one in six people on earth will be 60 years or older by 2030. By this point, there will be 1.4 billion people over the age of 60, up from 1 billion in 2020. The number of individuals across the globe who are 60 or older will double by 2050, while that of those 80 or older would triple. In many countries in Asia, this shift in the demographic is expected to drive the population of patients and the requirement for high-quality patient care via effective drug distribution. As a result, various Asian nations' demand for automated pharmacy operations is set to rise in the coming years.
Increasing Demand to Reduce Medication Errors To Drive Sector
The leading cause of hospital readmissions worldwide is recognized to be drug-related errors and distribution problems. During the production, distribution, and administration of pharmaceuticals, the confusion resulting from identical labels and prescriptions, unsafe drug storage procedures, and poor order communication between doctors and pharmacists is some of the major contributors to medication errors. One of the most-effective ways to reduce these errors is through automated systems. In the past, automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) and automated dispensing machines (ADMs) have successfully reduced the count of medication dispensing errors in hospitals.
Pharmacy Automation Market Analysis
Medication Dispensing & Storage System Category To Dominate Industry
In 2022, the medication dispensing & storage system category led the market with a share of around 45%. The large share can be ascribed to these systems' better safety features and precision in drug distribution, which reduce the likelihood of patients receiving incorrect medicines. Additionally, they aid in lowering costs and making inventory management more efficient, by regulating storage. Patients who receive the wrong prescriptions not only face health risks, but also huge financial consequences.
Furthermore, in inpatient units, these systems eliminate the need for manual inventory of narcotic drugs at the end of each shift and monitor narcotics and other controlled substances, as well as drug utilization patterns.
During the pandemic, the demand for medicines and, in turn, the necessity for these systems, increased as the prevalence of the infection rose. Moreover, because of the zero-touch trend, healthcare facilities and pharmacies preferred these systems, which has raised the demand for them.
The installation of automated dispensing systems is also growing as a result of the rise in the world's elderly population, the increase in the prevalence of numerous chronic conditions, and the high hospitalization rates. Additionally, system popularity is expected to grow during the projection period due to the expanding network of chain pharmacies and rising usage of AI in developed nations.
Retail Pharmacies Holds Significant Share
The retail pharmacies category holds significant share in the market. The rise in the popularity of retail dispensaries and the price reduction brought by the automation of their processes are responsible for this.
The growth can also be credited to the fact that during the coronavirus pandemic, only healthcare facilities, grocery shops, and a few other essential setups were allowed to open. This, in turn, gave players the idea to invest in this sector, as it is a future-safe business option.
The inpatient pharmacy category held the largest share, around 40%, in 2022. This will be owing to the rising responsibility of healthcare providers to bring down the frequency of pharmaceutical distribution errors and, ultimately, eliminate them altogether. Additionally, compared to manual handling of the task, automation is better at making workflow management simple. Another benefit automating inventory management provides to hospital dispensaries is less medication waste.
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Regional Analysis
North America Holds Largest Share in Industry
In 2022, North America generated more than 50% of the total revenue. The main factors behind the dominance of the continent are its established healthcare system, presence of top players, improvements in patient management methodologies, and deployment of advanced practice management systems.
In addition, the pandemic has fueled the expansion of the sector according to many technology suppliers, who also consider pharmacy automation the future. Additionally, the regional market has been expanding due to the existence of significant drugstore chains and high patient volumes. Likewise, the increasing investment in research and development contributes toward the industry expansion, as does the desire to reduce drug waste and prices.
Each year, more than 100,000 suspected drug errors are reported in the U.S.; they are on one of the major causes of deaths in this region.
Moreover, Europe holds a significant share as well. This can be credited to the booming aged population, growing prevalence of chronic conditions, and high expenditure on the medical infrastructure in the region. Due to these factors, there is an increase in the demand for both better healthcare services and medications. On top of that, the business will grow as drugstores become less centralized and labor costs and disposable income rise.
Additionally, as risks to the healthcare industry expand, providing effective patient security has become a priority in hospitals and retail pharmacies, thus driving the focus on automating pharmacy operations. In order to offer better services and more-efficient products, many companies in this sector in Europe are making considerable investments in innovative technologies.
As per one study done on the impact of robotic dispensing on German drugstores, the technology offers several advantages over traditional storage systems, including a modest increase in the sales of over-the-counter medicines and a slight reduction in labor expenses.
Market Breakdown
This report offers deep insights into the pharmacy automation industry, with size estimation for 2019 to 2030, the major drivers, restraints, trends and opportunities, and competitor analysis.
Based on Product
- Medication Dispensing & Storage Systems
- By Type
- Robots/robotic automated dispensing systems
- Carousels
- Automated dispensing cabinets
- By Operation
- Centralized
- Decentralized
- By Type
- Packaging & Labeling Systems
- Tabletop Counters
- Medication Compounding Systems
Based on End User
- Inpatient Pharmacies
- Outpatient Pharmacies
- Retail Pharmacies
- Pharmacy Benefit Management Organizations and Mail-Order Pharmacies
Geographical Analysis
- North America
- U.S.
- Canada
- Europe
- Germany
- U.K.
- France
- Italy
- Spain
- Asia-Pacific
- Japan
- China
- India
- South Korea
- Australia
- Latin America
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Middle East and Africa
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
- U.A.E.
Top Pharmacy Automation Companies
- Omnicell Inc.
- McKesson Corporation
- Pearson Medical Technologies LLC
- Baxter International Inc.
- Swisslog Healthcare
- ScriptPro LLC
- Becton, Dickinson & Company
- Capsa Healthcare
- Cerner Corporation
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