Medication delivery time requirements in centralized and decentralized unit dose drug distribution systems.

Medication delivery time requirements in centralized and decentralized unit dose drug distribution systems were compared. Four stages in the receipt of medication orders and the delivery of doses were identified, and the time required to perform each stage was recorded by pharmacist observers for seven days in each system. In the centralized system, it required 138--220 minutes to deliver doses after orders were ready to be collected at the nursing station, with the time varying according to order type. The same cycle required 1--40 minutes in the decentralized system. Delays in medication delivery were shorter in the decentralized system.