Unit dose packaging for long-term mental health facilities.
A study was conducted by two mental health institutions to determine the usage and the cost of providing oral solid unit dosage medications to 1400 patients. The results in the two institutions were as follows: 1) 257,732 (12%) and 73,956 (17%) doses were not commercially available; 2) 656 and 134 technician hours per year could be saved by employing a vendor packaging service; 3) only 119,802 (5%) and 66,627 (15%) of the doses were available commercially at little or no additional cost compared to bulk purchase; and 4) 1,856,752 (83%) and 298,712 (63%) doses were available commercially at a premium price of $34,138 and $8,544 per year. The unusually high quantity of medications not commercially available in unit dose packages and the high cost of purchasing those that are available may be the result of the specialized care provided by a mental health facility. Therefore, methods of providing unit dose products in acute-care hospitals may not be adaptable to mental health facilities or to other specialized care providers.
D003132:Commerce; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004345:Drug Industry; D006801:Humans; D008404:Massachusetts; D008509:Medication Systems / Q000191:economics*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D012112:Residential Facilities / Q000191:economics*