Over the last 2 decades, much has been made of theapplication of evidence-based medicine. While a broad topic, it can be distilled to a basic structure: Clear clinical questions are formed based on a patient problem, the literature and other sources are searched for relevant clinical studies, this evidence is evaluated for validity and usefulness to the problem at hand, and those findings are implemented into clinical practice.

Clearly, what is essential to evidence-based medicine is the evidence itself. Learning from the practices and experiences of our peers and using that knowledge to better our own practices is simply logical. It is with this idea in mind that we present the results of our annual State of Pharmacy Automation survey. Just as evidence-based medicine requires applicable data, so too does the acquisition and optimization of pharmacy automation.

Pharmacy Purchasing & Products is proud to present our 12th annual State of Pharmacy Automation issue. Comprising the results of our national survey of health-system pharmacists, this year’s issue is filled with new and multi-year trending data that covers the most prominent areas of automation and technology use in hospital pharmacy settings. Given the strength of our data captured over several years, the results reported herein provide significant benchmarking information and can be used to compel administration to continue supporting pharmacy’s operational improvements.

PP&P also is pleased to once again provide a PowerPoint slide package of our annual State of Pharmacy Automation data for use in presentations and proposals to colleagues and administration to help spur practice improvements. These slides deliver compelling visuals of current trends in automation acquisitions, while also demonstrating where you stand in relation to the activities of your peers. Visit pppmag.com/slides to download this year’s package. (You are welcome to use the slides; we request only that you retain the attribution.)

As always, we welcome your feedback on this special issue, as well as on all of our editorial coverage throughout the year. The overarching goal of PP&P is to assist pharmacy directors and managers in facilitating best practices for medication management and patient care. We look forward to seeing how the rest of 2017 unfolds and what exciting challenges and positive outcomes will be unveiled in 2018.

All the best,

R. Mitchell Halvorsen
Publisher