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Macey’s Automates Store Pharmacies with Innovation’s PharmASSIST Technology
Associated Food Stores Member Addresses Peak Filling Periods and Patient Safety with Pharmacy Automation

JOHNSON CITY, NY – September 2, 2008 –Innovation, makers of PharmASSIST® pharmacy automation solutions, today announced that Macey’s, a member of Associated Food Stores, Inc., has successfully implemented their PharmASSIST ROBOTx® and PharmASSIST SmartCabinet® technology to automate the dispensing process in three of their pharmacies. The three Macey’s stores using the automation systems are located in Providence, Spanish Fork, and West Jordan, Utah.

“We were looking for relief for our peak filling periods and also wanted to reduce the opportunity for error, After careful evaluation, we decided Innovation’s automation was a better long-term option than hiring additional technicians,” said Ric Sykes, pharmacy specialist, Associated Food Stores. “We selected Innovation’s systems for various reasons with the most compelling being the technology’s ease of scalability and clear migration path, which enables us to simply add on or migrate up as our store volumes grow. The technology has the flexibility and opportunity for growth that best fits our pharmacies’ overall requirements.”

To automate the dispensing of their high-moving medications, the Providence and Spanish Fork pharmacies are using the PharmASSIST ROBOTx systems (each with 140 dispensers) and the West Jordan pharmacy is using the PharmASSIST SmartCabinet systems (2 cabinets, 98 dispenser). The ROBOTx system is Innovation’s completely automated robotic dispensing technology, while the SmartCabinet system is counting technology from which operators retrieve counted prescriptions from the appropriate dispensers. All PharmASSIST technology employs simultaneous counting of prescriptions enabling pharmacies to improve their throughput.

According to Sykes, the busiest individual Associated Food Stores fill on average 300-400 prescriptions per day and have peaks that can reach 500 prescriptions daily. The systems are integrated with their HCC pharmacy management system, ensuring real-time prescription order flow for all Rx fulfillment tasks.

“After just a few weeks, the SmartCabinet system is filling 43% of the West Jordan pharmacy’s overall volume, and we’re in the midst of ramping up the ROBOTx systems. We’re well on our way to achieving our goals,” said Sykes.

“Associated Foods saw the true value of our scalable automation solutions from both a technological and an economic standpoint,” said Doyle Jensen, executive vice president, Innovation. “They’ve hit the ground running with their implementations and are seeing immediate results. We look forward to a long partnership with them.”

About Innovation Associates
Innovation Associates, Inc., a leader in the world of automated prescription dispensing, offers the PharmASSIST family of products to address the prescription growth, quality assurance, pharmacy workflow, and cost control challenges of all size pharmacies. With over three decades of broad-based, business experience, Innovation Associates is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality pharmacy automation products to the pharmacy industry. For more information on Innovation Associates, Inc., visit www.innovat.com.

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