Pharmacy automation in Navy Medicine: a study of Naval Medical Center San Diego
Authors
Merkl, Abbie J.
Subjects
pharmacy
automation
pharmacy automation
prescription
medication
dispensing errors
Navy Medicine
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
BUMED
Naval Medical Center San Diego
NMCSD
automation
pharmacy automation
prescription
medication
dispensing errors
Navy Medicine
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
BUMED
Naval Medical Center San Diego
NMCSD
Advisors
Whitaker, Lyn
Date of Issue
2015-09
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
In August 2012, Naval Medical Center San Diego implemented a state-of-the-art pharmacy automation system in an effort to reduce cost and improve efficiency. The objective of this study is to quantify the increase in efficiency after installation through a focus on observed post-automation prescription fill times during calendar year 2014 (CY2014) and a simulated pre-automation process. With a response of average daily prescription fill time, automatic prescription fills in CY2014 are quicker than manual prescription fills in CY2014 by 6.97 0.97 (standard error) minutes, and post-automation prescription fills are quicker than pre-automation prescription fills by 4.4 0.34 minutes. The difference between pre-automation and post-automation prescription fills is used as the response in a linear regression to determine which factors most contribute to the decrease in prescription fill time. The proportion of prescriptions automated is influential: if this proportion is held constant at 0.37, the workload for each pharmacy technician can be reduced by an estimated 2.34 0.03 (standard deviation) hours per day. A cost analysis of the pharmacy automation system is conducted, and it is estimated that a lower bound on the annual cost savings after implementation is over $300,000.
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Thesis
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Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.