Optimal sizing of an automated dispensing cabinet under adjacency constraints
Abstract
In this paper, we focus on the problem of determining the feasibility of medication assignment in an automated dispensing cabinet. Indeed, a cabinet is made up of several drawers. Each drawer is subdivided into compartments, each capable of receiving one medication type. There are medications which should not be placed in neighbouring compartments because of the risk of confusion, according to medication similarity (lookalike/sound-alike drugs) or the pharmacological incompatibility which may lead to errors in dispensing. Then, the problem consists in determining the boundary conditions necessary for the allocation of medications to the different compartments without similar/incompatible medications in close proximity to one another. First, we developed an algebraic model that calculates the upper limit (not to exceed) of appearances of a medication in all pairs of incompatible medications. Then we formulated an efficient mixed-integer linear program that checks
the existence of an acceptable solution to the assignment problem.
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