title: Automation in drug inventory management saves personnel time and budget.
abstract: Automation in the drug distribution processes is helpful to pharmacists in creating new clinical services. We have ameliorated the drug inventory control system seamlessly connected with the physician order-entry system. This control system application, named Artima, allows inventory functions to be faster and more efficient in real time. The medicines used in our hospital are automatically fixed and arranged to sold-packages, and are ordered from each wholesaler by a fax-modem every day. Artima can search the lot number and expiration date of drug in the purchase and delivery records. These functions are powerful and useful in patient's safety and cost containment. We surveyed the inventory amount stored in the computer database, and evaluated time required for inventory management by tabulating working records of employees during past decades. Inventory decreased by 70% along with the continuous improvement of the system during the past decade. The workload in the inventory management in each section of the Pharmacy Department as well as in clinical units was dramatically reduced after the implementation of this system. The automation system in the drug inventory management allows creating new clinical positions for pharmacists. This system also could pay for itself in time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hospital Pharmacy & Pharmacology, Asahikawa Medical College, 2-1-1-1 Midorigaoka-higashi, Asahikawa 078-8510, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Awaya
authors.forename: Ko-ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohtaki
authors.forename: Takehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Kuniko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyoshi
authors.forename: Yu-ichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Itagaki
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tasaki
authors.forename: Nobumasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayase
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsubara
mesh_terms: D016303:Clinical Pharmacy Information Systems; D003195:Computer Communication Networks; D003628:Database Management Systems; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D007445:Inventories, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D007564:Japan; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012984:Software; D018511:Systems Integration; D016526:Workload / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data