Piotr Merks1, Damian Świeczkowski2, Mikołaj Zerhau3, Anna Gawronska4, Anna Kowalczuk5, Klaudiusz Gajewski6, Ralf Däinghaus6, Miłosz Jaguszewski2, David Brindley7. 1. Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw 01-938 Poland. 2. First Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdańsk 80-211, Poland. 3. dr. Józef Psarski Masovian Specialist Hospital in Ostrołęka, Ostrołęka 07-10, Poland. 4. Standardisation Department, GS1 Expert in Healthcare, Poznan 61-755, Poland. 5. National Institute of Medicines, Warsaw 00-725, Poland. 6. MedAspis GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany. 7. UCL Centre for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation, The University of Oxford, Oxford OX39DU, UK.
Abstract
Background: The introduction of a medicines verification and decommissioning system into the hospital pharmacy may result in an increased workload for pharmacy staff. The pilot implementation allows us to understand all the implications of the process, optimize process workflows, and estimate the time and cost of implementation. Methods: All the packages received at the hospital pharmacy had a 2D data matrix codes and were scanned. We analyzed the time needed to unpack a variety of products, scan them, and receive the notification. Results: In total, 144 packages were scanned at an average time of 3.05 s, with most (86.9%) under 4 s. Manual decommissioning using handheld scanners was less efficient than the automated solution tested and resulted in an additional 0.4 full-time equivalent hours per million packages per year. The pattern and total time of manual scanning depended not only on the quantity but also the size of the package and type of packing. Conclusions: This evaluation of scanning performance allows optimizing the process at operational, technical, and resource levels for medicine verification and decommissioning.
Background: The introduction of a medicines verification and decommissioning system into the hospital pharmacy may result in an increased workload for pharmacy staff. The pilot implementation allows us to understand all the implications of the process, optimize process workflows, and estimate the time and cost of implementation. Methods: All the packages received at the hospital pharmacy had a 2D data matrix codes and were scanned. We analyzed the time needed to unpack a variety of products, scan them, and receive the notification. Results: In total, 144 packages were scanned at an average time of 3.05 s, with most (86.9%) under 4 s. Manual decommissioning using handheld scanners was less efficient than the automated solution tested and resulted in an additional 0.4 full-time equivalent hours per million packages per year. The pattern and total time of manual scanning depended not only on the quantity but also the size of the package and type of packing. Conclusions: This evaluation of scanning performance allows optimizing the process at operational, technical, and resource levels for medicine verification and decommissioning.
Authors: Piotr Merks; Urszula Religioni; Nuno Pinto de Castro; Anna Augustynowicz; Katarzyna Plagens-Rotman; David Brindley; Anna Kowalczuk; Justyna Kaźmierczak; Agnieszka Neumann-Podczaska; Eliza Blicharska; Katarina Fehir Sola; Martin J Hug; Klaudiusz Gajewski; Paweł Piątkiewicz Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-03-10 Impact factor: 3.390