Characterization of pharmacy workload and pharmacist activities in a Canadian community pharmacy.
The present study was undertaken to obtain data which would characterize pharmacist activities and prescription workload in a community pharmacy. Data on pharmacist activities were obtained by using a work sampling methodology. The proportion of time spent on each of 44 activities was obtained, and it was found that the proportion of time spent on professional activities (17.6 percent) was notably less than the time spent on nonprofessional activities (82.4 percent). Data on prescription workload were obtained by the design of a data sheet which was to be completed by each pharmacist for every prescription dispensed. The collected data characterized the number of prescriptions dispensed, which were related to the time of day and day of the week; they also provided information on the types of prescriptions dispensed, the age of patients (e.g., pediatric, geriatric), and the methods of payment.
D002170:Canada; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D010594:Pharmacies / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011996:Records / Q000592:standards; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013996:Time and Motion Studies