Henry Ford Health in Detroit is partnering with Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BD) in New Jersey to develop a robotic solution that will enable patients to pick up select prescriptions at their convenience — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Through the collaboration, said to be the first of its kind in the U.S., Henry Ford Health and BD will develop multiple applications of the BD Rowa Vmax, a sophisticated pharmacy automation robot.
The first deployment will enhance the prescription retrieval processes at Henry Ford Health’s hospital-based community pharmacies in southeast and central Michigan.
“Modern pharmacy needs industrial-grade reliability and human-centered design,” says Jennifer Tryon, chief pharmacy officer at Henry Ford Health. “That’s the driving force behind our High Value Pharmacy Enterprise — uniting every pharmacy touchpoint under one vision to deliver safer care, better access, and measurable outcomes.
“This partnership with BD advances that vision. By introducing this automation, we free our teams to focus on high-impact, patient-centered work. It’s a bold step toward transforming how we serve our patients, our communities and our industry.”
Widely used across Europe, the BD Rowa Vmax system offers high-speed, modular high-capacity robotic storage that automates the process of storing and dispensing of medications.
By integrating BD Rowa Vmax into Henry Ford Health’s pharmacy operations, patients can be expected to benefit from enhanced access to their prescriptions — whether picking up from a community location or upon discharge from the hospital.
The partnership is designed to offer several key benefits, including:
- Use of automation to improve the overall community pharmacy experience.
- Automated, high-capacity storage that safely and accurately retrieves patients’ prescriptions while improving pharmacy staff efficiency, enabling them to focus on higher value patient care tasks.
- 24/7 prescription access supports continuity of care and ensures convenience for patients.
- Real-time prescription tracking and modular scalability.
- Housing prescriptions, refrigerated medication, supplies and over-the-counter products patients may need for their ongoing care.
“Henry Ford Health has one of the most innovative and patient-centered visions for what a health system pharmacy can do for patients,” says Chad Glover, vice president and general manager of pharmacy automation at BD.
“BD’s robotics and pharmacy automation technologies are well aligned to support such a vision, and we are looking forward to this initial implementation as well as future collaborations to further advance Henry Ford Health’s hospital and community pharmacies.”
BD says it is working closely with Henry Ford Health to identify additional use cases for the automated pharmacy solution and other technologies.
Henry Ford Health joins Amazon, which in late July unveiled its first Michigan same-day delivery fulfillment center in Wixom that serves metro Detroit. The center is part of Amazon’s mission to make medications more accessible in a faster way.
The Amazon Pharmacy and same-day delivery fulfillment site in Wixom is close to 300,000 square feet in size and employs almost 600 full-time employees.
The state-of-the-art facility is staffed by trained and licensed pharmacists available 24/7 to speak with customers about their medications. It features advanced automation technology for fast filling of prescriptions and temperature-controlled storage to ensure safe medication delivery.
“We’re excited that customers in Wixom, Detroit, and surrounding areas can now receive most of their medications conveniently within hours,” says Kelvin Downes, director of operations for Amazon Pharmacy.
“This Wixom facility, with its advanced automation and 24/7 pharmacist support, addresses the growing challenge of pharmacy deserts in the region. By combining speed, convenience, and transparent pricing, we aim to improve health outcomes for Michigan residents and beyond.”
