A medication cart is a storage problem defined by density and countability: many small items, each needing its own visible slot, plus a way to lock down anything controlled. This page covers the storage side – cassette drawer layouts, lock options, restocking workflow and sizing. Labs USA is a supplier and project partner, not the manufacturer. We supply Pegasus Medical cart platforms, help configure them for the room and workflow, and coordinate delivery and installation. Medication protocols and checking routines belong to your pharmacy and nursing teams; we do not advise on them and nothing here should be read as clinical or compliance guidance.

Pegasus Poly medication cart with cassette-style narrow drawers
2Pegasus lines with a published medication cart setup
8starting configurations published on the Poly body
3body heights available on the Poly platform
Freeconfiguration and layout support

Cassette drawers vs. open bins – the layout decision

A medication cart lives or dies on how fast a nurse can find one item without touching the others.

Pegasus publishes medication cart configurations on both its Poly (all-polymer) and Ecoline (powder-coated steel) platforms, and both support a cassette-drawer layout – narrow, individually numbered drawer inserts sized to hold single medications or small packaged items, rather than one deep drawer holding a mixed pile. The Ecoline drawers accept the same trays and baskets already used across other Pegasus rack and shelving lines, so a facility standardising on Pegasus storage can carry one tray/basket inventory across the medication room, the cart, and the supply racks behind it instead of buying cart-specific inserts.

The decision is really about count and density: how many discrete medications or SKUs need their own visible slot, versus how much bulk or bundled stock can share a wider drawer. We work that list out with you before quoting a layout – not the other way around.

Locking and controlled-substance separation

Both Pegasus lines support the lock types already used across their cart programme: numbered breakaway lock bars for open-access carts that just need tamper-evidence, key locks for carts inside controlled rooms, and push-button/electronic options with a key override for carts opened many times a shift. None of that is medication-cart specific hardware – it is the same lock family Pegasus uses on crash and procedure carts, which is useful if your fleet needs to look and lock the same way across departments.

A common request we get is a separately-lockable drawer or lockbox insert for controlled substances inside an otherwise open cart. That is a configuration line, not a standard feature, and it changes the bill of materials, so it is quoted with the rest of the cart rather than priced as an add-on afterward.

Restocking workflow

The same two patterns apply here as on any high-turn cart, and they drive different storage behind the cart itself.

Exchange

A depleted cart is swapped for a pre-built one and restocked centrally in the pharmacy or central supply. This gives one team full control of what goes in every drawer, but it needs float carts and a build area shelved to match the drawer plan.

Restock in place

The cart stays on the unit and is refilled from the pharmacy or a nearby clean utility room. This needs less float inventory, but the drawer layout only stays accurate if the room behind it mirrors the cart – same sequence, same bins, same labels.

Sizing the cart to the medication room

Pegasus’s Poly platform ships in three body heights and six drawer layout options, which is enough range to fit a narrow medication room aisle or a wider workstation-style setup without switching product lines. Before we quote, we ask for the room footprint, the door swing the cart has to clear, and whether it parks at a fixed station or travels the unit – all three change which body height and caster set make sense.

Poly vs. Ecoline: which body fits a medication cart?

Both Pegasus lines publish a medication configuration, and the choice usually comes down to the room and the cleaning routine rather than the drawer plan.

The Poly (all-polymer) body is a single molded shell – no seams for spills to collect in, which is why it is often preferred inside the medication room itself or anywhere the cart gets wiped down between shifts. The Ecoline (powder-coated steel) body is the heavier-duty option, and its drawers share trays and baskets with other Pegasus rack and shelving lines, which matters if the facility is already standardizing on Pegasus storage elsewhere and wants one tray inventory across the cart and the room behind it.

Neither line is priced online – both are configured to order because the drawer stack, lock choice and accessory set change the bill of materials on every cart.

Resources

Get a medication cart configuration and quote FAQ

Should we use cassette drawers or open bins?
Cassette-style drawer inserts suit medications and small packaged items that each need their own visible, countable slot. Open bins or wider drawers suit bulk or bundled stock. Most medication carts use both – a cassette stack over one or two wider drawers – and we size that mix from your item list, not a fixed template.
Can one drawer be locked separately for controlled substances?
Yes, as a configuration line on both the Poly and Ecoline platforms. A separately-lockable drawer or lockbox insert changes the bill of materials, so we quote it as part of the cart configuration rather than as an aftermarket add-on.
Do these carts meet a particular pharmacy or clinical standard?
We make no standard, code, certification or clinical-compliance claims about any cart we supply. We provide the manufacturer’s published product information and configure to the criteria your pharmacy and nursing teams give us; medication protocols and checking routines are your facility’s call.
Can we standardize trays and baskets between the cart and our supply racks?
On the Ecoline platform, yes – the manufacturer states the cart drawers accept the same trays and baskets used across other Pegasus rack and shelving lines, so one tray/basket inventory can serve the cart and the room behind it.

Get a medication cart configuration and quote

Send your drawer/item list, lock requirements and where the cart parks. You get a configuration built from the manufacturer’s published specifications, a divider and accessory list, freight and lead time, and layout support at no charge.