Reducing pharmacy patient waiting time

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance,Volume 31, Issue 7, Page 834-844, August 2018. Purpose Pharmacy services start right from prescribing medicines and continue as the medication ’s effect is monitored. Hospital and community pharmacy staff promote rational prescribing and medicine use. Consequentially, pharmacy is a complex and busy field. Often there are peak workload hours when patients must wait, which is associated with patient dissatisfaction that may negatively affe ct patient experience and the organisation’s reputation. The purpose of this paper is to enlist techniques, methods and technological advancements that have been successfully employed to reduce patient waiting time. Design/methodology/approach A database search was conducted in 2017 to locate ar ticles addressing methods and technologies that reduce pharmacy waiting time. The literature revealed various techniques and technologies like queuing theory, tele-pharmacy, evidence-based pharmacy design, automated pharmacy systems (robotics), system modelling and simulation and the Six Sigma metho d for identifying potential problems associated with increased wait time. Findings The authors conclude that various techniques and methods, including automated queuing technology, tele-pharmacy, automated pharmacy devices/machines for quick and accurate filling and dispensing, computer simulation modelling, evidence-based pharmacy infrastructure for smooth workflow and Six Sigma can maintain cu...
Source: International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance - Category: Health Management Source Type: research