Trends in Medication Management: Daily Efficiencies
- Managing a hospital pharmacy is a numbers game: How much inventory is needed on hand?
- Certain methods,such as hospital medication management and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tracking,should be paid attention to because they reflect the real pressures that pharmacy leaders face.To stay grounded in...
- In the frist quarter of 2024,the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) was tracking a record 323 active drug shortages.1 While the numbers have declined as this peak,...
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Managing a hospital pharmacy is a numbers game: How much inventory is needed on hand? how much medication is being wasted? How efficient are day-to-day workflows? Every extra minute saved or wasted can multiply hundreds of times over in a single day, and over time, that adds up to a pharmacy that either runs smoothly or constantly feels behind.
Certain methods,such as hospital medication management and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tracking,should be paid attention to because they reflect the real pressures that pharmacy leaders face.To stay grounded in what matters most, regular check-ins wiht hospital pharmacists should be performed to understand their current challenges and goals.
Combatting Medication waste and Optimizing Staff Efficiency
In the frist quarter of 2024,the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) was tracking a record 323 active drug shortages.1 While the numbers have declined as this peak, shortages remain a challenging and ever-present reality for hospital pharmacists. However, over-ordering and carrying excess inventory are equally pressing issues, with rising health care costs across north America.
Improving Operating Room Efficiency with Data and Technology
Hospitals are exploring ways to optimize medication and supply management in operating rooms and throughout their health systems, aiming to reduce waste and improve efficiency. Current systems often lack real-time visibility into available resources, leading to overstocking and potential expiration of supplies.
“Right now, most providers don’t have easy, real-time visibility into what [is] available,” said eschete.”We do have trays and RFID technology in place, but we’re not fully using the data. Better use of this facts would prevent overstocking-such as,we wouldn’t keep 10 vials when only 1 is typically needed.”
Effective data utilization could also minimize waste by tracking inventory usage and identifying expired items across the entire health system. This includes monitoring both utilization and waste, not just in the operating room, but system-wide.
Implementing changes in healthcare requires careful consideration due to the paramount importance of patient safety.
“Health care is understandably cautious-our processes are built around patient safety, and people worry that change might disrupt what already works,” said Daley-Morris. “But as one of our anesthesiologists said, ‘If I can walk out of a store and be charged automatically, why can’t we have this in the operating rooms or procedure rooms?’ We need to be open to change if we want to be sustainable and continue to enhance care.”
Daley-Morris expressed confidence in her team’s willingness to embrace innovation and improve patient care.