This year marks the 16^th anniversary of our annual State of Pharmacy Automation survey, and while we are proud of this fact and are honored by your participation, the past 18 months obviously have been far different than all the previous years of our survey. As COVID-19 has permeated all areas of clinical practice, we cannot help but wonder how hospital pharmacy operations will be permanently altered as a result. Undoubtedly, reliance upon automation and technology is going to increase, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out over the next few years.

Maintaining compliance with the numerous rules, regulations, and recommendations for best practices in hospital pharmacy is a daunting task under the best of circumstances, but given the current climate, rare is the day that complications do not arise. Thus, reliance on proven and robust automation technology is essential, as is a continued effort to maintain standard best practices.

Toward that effort, the data described in the following pages, trending over multiple years and representing a well-refined survey methodology, can be used to compel your facility’s administration to continue supporting positive operational changes to pharmacy systems and processes. To download a PowerPoint slide package of this year’s State of Pharmacy Automation data for use in presentations or proposals to colleagues and administration, simply visit pppmag.com/slides.

These are challenging times indeed and we know that people are struggling both professionally and personally. Few are more affected by the full brunt of the pandemic’s force than health care workers, and for your ongoing and undeterred commitment, we salute you.

All the best,

R. Mitchell Halvorsen

Publisher

Sweepstakes Winner of Our Annual State of Pharmacy Automation Survey!

Dan Roth, PharmD
Pharmacy Manager
CoxHealth System
Springfield, Missouri

We would like to congratulate the randomly selected winner of this year’s State of Pharmacy Automation survey—Dan Roth, PharmD! Dan opted for the $750 Amazon gift card from among the available prizes. Our wholehearted thanks to Dan and everyone who participated this year.

Keep your eyes peeled for our upcoming surveys, and you could be our next big winner!