Final answer:
A pharmacist can distribute medications from an automated system without checking each one if the system has validated accuracy through advanced technologies that match medication dispensing to prescriptions. Periodic quality checks by pharmacists ensure the system's reliability and patient safety.
Step-by-step explanation:
In certain circumstances, a pharmacist may be able to distribute patient-specific medications from a centralized automated system without checking each individual medication. This may occur if the system itself is validated to perform at a high level of accuracy and has mechanisms in place that ensure correct dispensing. Advanced technologies such as barcode scanning and weight verification can be integrated into the automated system to confirm that the correct medication is selected and that it matches the patient's prescription. For example, if a pharmacist is overseeing a centralized automated dispensing system that has been thoroughly tested for accuracy, reliability, and has real-time monitoring capabilities, the manual check of each medication may not be required.
These types of systems are designed to reduce human error and increase efficiency. However, even with advanced systems in place, periodic checks and validation by pharmacists are necessary to maintain quality control and patient safety, thereby ensuring the ongoing reliability of the automated dispensing system.