Pharmacy robots named after singer-songwriters Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and June Carter-Cash now fill the hallways at Ballad Health's Bristol (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center.
Workers helped name the Omnicell XR2 Central Pharmacy Dispensing robots, the Johnson City, Tenn.-based system said in a news release.
"Given Bristol's rich musical heritage, particularly the 1927 Bristol Sessions that ignited the country music movement across America and the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, the theme chosen for the robots' name and decal design is country music," the release said.
The robots are equipped to transport drugs to free up pharmacy workers' time, reduce waste by dispensing earliest-to-expire medications, scan barcodes to improve patient safety, and track every dose and its expiration date.
Ballad chose Bristol Regional to house the robots because of its central location in the Appalachian Highlands and proximity to the system's network.
"With fewer touchpoints, these state-of-the-art robots will empower our team members to redirect their focus towards more clinical initiatives, ultimately enhancing the overall quality of patient care," Trish Tanner, vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Ballad, said in the release.