title: Pharmacy personnel activities and costs in decentralized and centralized unit dose drug distribution systems.
abstract: Pharmacy personnel activities and labor costs directly associated with concurrent decentralized and centralized unit dose drug distribution systems in the same institution were compared. A work-sampling observation technique was used for the activity survey. Analysis of the data showed that: (1) the activities of pharmacy personnel vary significantly between the decentralized and centralized systems, (2) pharmacists in the decentralized area spent a significantly greater portion of their productive time performing therapy-related activities than did those pharmacists in the centralized system, (3) multiple staffing patterns associated with the centralized unit dose system afforded a significantly greater participation in educational activities by all pharmacy personnel staffing that area, (4) dispensing activities accounted for most nonpharmacist personnel time in both systems, and (5) based on cost/unit dose and existing staffing patterns, there was no appreciable difference in personnel labor costs associated with the two systems. However, it was determined that a considerable cost difference could be expected if the decentralized system's hours of service were equivalent to those associated with the centralized system.
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D008510:Medication Systems, Hospital; D010595:Pharmacists; D010605:Pharmacy Administration; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital