Healthcare

The healthcare industry comprises many different players. These include hospitals, clinics and medical surgeries, pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, pharmaceutical wholesalers and pharmacies, digital health companies, the wellness and fitness industry, research institutes, health insurance companies, government and regulatory authorities and, of course, logistics services providers. The healthcare sector and the healthcare system have been undergoing change for a number of years, a change that has been accelerated by the pandemic. In its previous form, the German healthcare system has had its day and is now being shaped by new social and technological trends. Influencing factors are political framework conditions, health trends, demographic change, technological possibilities, issues such as environmental protection and sustainability as well as the necessary increase in efficiency. The population is getting older and older, which means that chronic diseases are on the rise. The healthcare sector is currently being shaped by many trends and endeavours. One megatrend is digitisation, which is leading to new opportunities such as the analysis of big data using artificial intelligence (AI) to increase the efficiency of all processes. Examples include the electronic patient file (ePA), telemedicine, augmented and virtual reality (AR, VR), AI-controlled preventive medicine, cloud computing, wearables, medical apps, medical robots and medicine in the metaverse. The entry of internet giants such as Amazon, Alibaba, Apple, Samsung and Tencent into the healthcare sector is increasingly blurring industry boundaries. Patient treatment is set to become increasingly accurate and personalised. Individual health indicators are monitored on the basis of patient history and sensor data, and forecasts are made for future illnesses. Another megatrend is sustainable healthcare. Hospitals and medical facilities are endeavouring to reduce their ecological footprint. Other sustainability trends include green procurement and logistics, waste reduction and recycling, a better medication management and compliant disposal, sustainable design principles for new hospitals and clinical facilities and, of course, training and education in sustainability practices. Hospital at Home (HaH) services are increasingly being used to relieve the burden on hospitals and save costs. By receiving care at home, patients can enjoy the comfort and familiar surroundings of their own home while still receiving the necessary medical treatment and care. This can reduce costs in the healthcare system by avoiding or shortening inpatient hospital stays.

To ensure that the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries can also fulfil the high demands in the future, manufacturing companies are increasingly relying on intelligent logistics solutions when storing items in bins, containers or on trays and organising continuous replenishment. Optimum access control to stocks or keeping medicines refrigerated at all times are equally important aspects. Like almost everywhere else, warehouses are becoming increasingly automated in order to increase speed and throughput and reduce the error rate. Absolute precision is essential in the healthcare sector. The aim is to create flexible, efficient, fast and reliable logistics and intralogistics. Digital technologies and the topic of AI are also vital here. AI is used to analyse data, forecast models and improve decision-making. By analysing large volumes of data, companies can identify trends, optimise inventory management and increase the efficiency of intralogistics. In the German healthcare sector - i.e. manufacturers, wholesalers and pharmacies - automated high-bay warehouses, shuttle systems and automated small parts warehouses (ASRS) are increasingly being used. Working with a warehouse management system, warehouse throughput, storage capacity, picking rate and efficiency can be increased and the error rate significantly reduced. Inventory tracking is usually automated and carried out in real time using barcodes, weight sensors or RFID technology. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and picking robots, for example, are also used to optimise the material flow and logistics processes. To ensure that expiry dates are adhered to and older products are used first, storage systems are used that ensure compliance with the FIFO (First-In-First-Out) principle. Live storage racking is particularly suitable for this purpose.

In the healthcare sector, medicines and vaccines that require refrigeration need to be stored in special cooling units. Cold storage systems include special cold rooms, cabinets or boxes that provide a temperature controlled environment to maintain the quality and efficacy of the products. Insulated loading stations (dock levellers) are also important to ensure that the cold chain for medicines requiring refrigeration is not interrupted. Conditioning chambers - in which goods that are too cold are heated or goods that are too warm are cooled - should also be considered. High-bay warehouses must be equipped with special air conditioning and ventilation systems to maintain the ideal temperature. The use of industrial trucks in "ultra-low temperature areas" also poses challenges. Constant reconditioning in warm areas must be considered.

BITO offers a thermal insulation set for BITO multi-purpose containers MB to ensure that medicines and vaccines are transported safely. The set maintains in-box temperatures between 2 and 8°C for at least 12 hours. It combines an impact resistant insert box from polystyrene, a Neopor foam inlay and three cold packs ICECATCH® Solid Insulated. The cold packs feature an integrated, hydrophobic insulation layer. In addition, BITO has developed a digital high-performance transport box for shipping temperature-sensitive medicines and vaccines in a cooperation with the Darmstadt-based start-up Tec4med. It can be used to handle pharmaceutical products and medicines in a GDP-compliant manner. The box is equipped with special PCM cold packs, modular insulation inserts for different cooling areas and a SmartLog data gateway. The Internet of Things enables seamless remote monitoring of various parameters using a data logger for real-time control of temperature, humidity, location, etc. along the entire supply chain.

BITO also provides static and live storage racking systems, single and multi-tier installations as well as bins, trays and containers for storage, transport and order picking, all of which are particularly suited for the healthcare industry.