Expansion is the hallmark of pharmacy activity this year, with smaller facilities introducing established technologies to achieve more parity with their larger peers. Key technologies, such as carousels and ADC monitoring software, are no longer solely in the purview of large academic medical centers (see FIGURE 1). Simultaneously, many mid-sized and large facilities are focused on adopting novel technologies to drive innovation in their practices.

While ADCs, CPOE, and smart pumps remain the three most important technologies for pharmacy, this year saw an increasing emphasis on the importance of carousels and robots, unit dose packaging systems, and temperature monitoring systems.

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Survey Design

In the third quarter of 2023, PP&P polled a random, nationwide sample of health system pharmacy directors. We asked these pharmacy leaders to share their experiences with their current automation as well as their future purchasing plans. In addition, we queried their approaches to staffing rates, technology optimization, medication management practices, and vendor assessments.

Pharmacy leaders responded with great insight and a spirit of generosity by sharing their data and projections for the future states of their operations, thus providing a font of information for all of hospital pharmacy to benchmark their automation efforts against. Responses were solicited via email and a total of 360 responses were received, yielding a confidence interval of 4.98 (95% +/- 4.98) based on the population of pharmacy directors nationwide. With deep gratitude, we applaud those pharmacy leaders who participated and continue to uphold the tradition of PP&P State of Pharmacy Automation.

As always, we intentionally survey a random sample of pharmacy directors, not just readers of PP&P, in order to ensure the data reflects trends across the entirety of US hospital practice. Thus, we are quite pleased that 77% of pharmacy directors rely on PP&P when researching automation purchases.

Embracing Opportunities

Pharmacy’s embrace of new technologies this year is underscored by the number of facilities looking to implement creative solutions (see FIGURE 2). There is heightened interest in increasing RFID utilization to expand its benefits beyond emergency medication trays. Pharmacy leaders would like manufacturers to commit to offering a broader array of products with embedded RFID.

Interest in cutting-edge technologies is expanding across pharmacy. AI systems, virtual assistants to source drug information, and drone medication delivery are all garnering more attention.

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Facilities of all sizes have been quick to bring the safety of bar coding and image capture to compounding; as such, implementing IV workflow systems is now typical in 200+ bed facilities. Purchasing has also expanded to support the automation of medication tracking, freeing staff to pursue more valuable activities. Notably, purchasing purpose-built medication tracking software leads to higher satisfaction than utilizing the EHR to accomplish the same goals. Pharmacy’s care for their communities is further evidenced by the extension of telehealth services, expanding outpatient services, and the provision of drug take-back programs. This growth is projected to continue, supported by strong long-term projections for pharmacy automation budgets.

Vendor Assessments

When redesigning processes and choosing new automation tools, shared experiences from similar facilities can be invaluable. Fortunately, most vendors serving pharmacy deliver high quality solutions. Within this group, the following product classes receive the highest rankings based on user experience:

1. Medication Tray Management
2. Automated Drug Storage and Retrieval
3. ADCs
4. Temperature Monitoring Systems
5. Smart Pumps
6. Automated Compounders

Conclusion

The true value of data lies in its ability to clarify opportunities for improvement and to underscore areas of excellence. With quality data, benchmarking information can be leveraged to support automation expansions and measure optimization efforts against those of similar organizations.

Successful benchmarking then inspires meaningful queries: Are you on the leading edge of pharmacy telehealth? Would an expansion of pharmacy informaticist positions support smart pump optimization efforts? Are other facilities outpacing your efforts at providing customized outpatient services? Our goal is to provide data that supports your quest for pharmacy optimization.

Feel free to use this data to support your proposals for new automation acquisitions and for presentations both internal and external. For your convenience, a slide kit of the data is available at pppmag.com/slides

Deanne Halvorsen is the editorial director and a founding partner of Ridgewood Medical Media, publisher of Pharmacy Purchasing & Products and MedicalLab Management. She can be reached at dhalvorsen@ridgewoodmedia.com.