JFCRx Unveils TruCard Stack to Automate Pharmacies Amid Staff Shortages

BRISTOL, WI – March 12, 2026 – As pharmacies across the country grapple with persistent labor shortages and the mounting pressure of rising prescription volumes, analytics-driven automation firm JFCRx today announced the launch of TruCard™ Stack. The new system is a modular, robotic add-on designed to automate the high-volume production of blister card medications, a critical but historically labor-intensive task.

The announcement comes at a pivotal moment for the pharmacy industry. Pharmacists and technicians are increasingly burdened by repetitive administrative duties, which detracts from time that could be spent on patient care and clinical services. By automating the loading and unloading of patient trays, JFCRx aims to provide a direct solution to this workflow bottleneck, enabling pharmacies to scale their operations without adding staff.

The Automation Imperative in Modern Pharmacies

The challenges facing pharmacies are well-documented. The demand for pharmacy automation is surging, with the global market size estimated at USD 5.5 billion in 2022 and projected to climb to over USD 11.6 billion by 2030. This growth is fueled by a clear and urgent need to improve efficiency, reduce medication errors, and alleviate the strain on an overworked pharmacy workforce.

Traditionally, preparing multi-dose blister cards—which organize a patient's medications by day and time of dose—is a manual, time-consuming process prone to human error. For pharmacies serving long-term care facilities or patients with complex, chronic conditions, this task can consume thousands of technician hours. Automation offers a path forward, promising not only to accelerate dispensing but also to enhance accuracy. Studies have shown that automated systems can reduce dispensing time by over 45% and decrease medication error rates by as much as 71%.

This shift allows pharmacy staff to be redeployed to higher-value roles. With technicians freed from manual packaging, they can take on more advanced responsibilities, while pharmacists can dedicate more time to medication therapy management, patient counseling, and other clinical initiatives that directly improve health outcomes.

Inside the TruCard Stack: A Hands-Free Approach

JFCRx's TruCard Stack is engineered to integrate seamlessly with the company's existing TruCard blister card packaging system. Its core function is to automate the entire tray exchange process, loading and unloading up to 20 patient trays at a time. This capability supports continuous, around-the-clock production, effectively turning a pharmacy's packaging system into a hands-free operation.

With a compact footprint of 40 inches wide by 31 inches deep, the unit is designed to fit into existing pharmacy layouts without requiring costly remodeling. This modular approach allows pharmacies to scale their capacity as their business grows, adding automation without replacing their entire infrastructure.

“Pharmacies are continually looking for ways to lower both the cost and time required to fill,” said Duane Chudy, Chairman at JFCRx, in the company's announcement. “TruCard Stack is tailor-made for pharmacies that are accelerating their blister card production. It directly supports what matters most — protecting technician time, preserving pharmacist oversight, and eliminating workflow bottlenecks.”

The system is connected to JFCRx's cloud-based EnLite™ ecosystem, which provides real-time data and enterprise-level analytics. This integration allows pharmacy managers to monitor performance, optimize workflows, and make data-driven decisions to improve efficiency and control costs.

Reshaping the Competitive Landscape

The launch of TruCard Stack places JFCRx, a relatively new company founded in 2021, in direct competition with established giants in the pharmacy automation space, such as Omnicell, BD (which acquired Parata Systems), and RxSafe. While these companies offer robust adherence packaging solutions, many are focused on full-system installations or pouch packaging technology.

JFCRx's strategy appears to be a targeted one, focusing specifically on providing a modular upgrade path for pharmacies already committed to blister card packaging. This segment of the adherence packaging market, which was valued at over USD 1 billion in 2023, is driven by the needs of the growing geriatric population and those with chronic illnesses. Blister packs remain a dominant format, prized for their clarity and ease of use for patients.

By offering an add-on rather than a complete replacement, JFCRx provides a potentially more accessible and cost-effective entry point into high-volume automation. This could be particularly appealing to independent pharmacies or smaller health systems looking to increase throughput without the massive capital expenditure required for a full system overhaul.

Beyond Efficiency: The Impact on Patient Care

While the operational benefits for pharmacies are clear, the ultimate significance of technologies like TruCard Stack lies in their potential to improve patient health. Medication non-adherence is a pervasive and costly problem in healthcare, leading to poor health outcomes and billions in avoidable medical expenses annually.

Adherence packaging directly addresses this challenge. By pre-sorting medications into clearly labeled, easy-to-open packages for each specific dose time, it removes the guesswork and confusion that often lead patients to miss doses or take them incorrectly. The ability to scale the production of these packages means more patients can benefit from this service.

Research has demonstrated the powerful impact of this approach. One comprehensive study found that when multi-med blister packaging was combined with pharmacist-led care, patient medication adherence rates soared from 61% to 97%. By making it easier for pharmacies to offer these packaging services, automation can play a crucial role in driving similar improvements on a wider scale. This leads to not only better management of chronic conditions but also a reduction in hospitalizations and emergency room visits, contributing to a more sustainable healthcare system. As pharmacies navigate these complex challenges, such integrated automation represents a critical tool in their efforts to enhance both operational resilience and the quality of patient care.