By Hannah Kanfer
This week BluesightⓇ released its annual Hospital Pharmacy Operations 2021 Report (HPOR). The HPOR report surveyed 118 hospital pharmacy professionals in the last quarter of 2021 including a diverse range of participants, including a majority who have worked in the hospital space for over 10+ years. The information from HPOR helps empower industry leaders to make informed decisions and equip them with knowledge on future trends.
This report offers a look into some of the biggest issues facing hospital pharmacies and their staff. The survey recapitulated how COVID-19 continues to challenge and reshape the hospital pharmacy landscape.
One in Four Hospital Pharmacists Report They are Aware of a Colleague Who has Diverted Opioids.
Drug diversion continues to be a serious threat to patient safety and operational efficiency. Hospital Pharmacists who believe it would be “easy” to divert drugs from their organization went up by 30% in the last year.
The Demand for Controlled Substance Tracking has now Outpaced Automated Dispensing Cabinets as the Number one Technological Initiative in 2021.
With drug diversion as a top concern, it is no surprise to see an increased demand for controlled substance tracking technology. Now over one-third of hospital pharmacists have ranked drug diversion software as their #1 initiative.
Drug Shortages are the #1 Challenge Facing Hospital Pharmacies.
For the fourth consecutive year, drug shortages have ranked as the top issue facing hospital pharmacy leaders. As seen in previous reports, COVID-19 has only exacerbated the issue, hospital pharmacies experiencing 10 or more drug shortages has gone up 14% since 2020.
More Than Half of Hospital Pharmacists Reported that each Medication Shortage Typically Consumes 3 or more Staff Hours.
Medication shortages are putting a stress on an already strained staff, leading to operational slow downs and mistakes that could potentially put patients at risk.
Staffing Shortages Still Remain a Top Challenge Among Pharmacy Leaders.
With staffing shortages not letting up, pharmacy leaders are turning their focus into increasing their operational efficiency.
As pharmacy leaders continue to face pandemic- related challenges, Bluesight helps address these issues with its innovative software solutions. Bluesight’s Medication Intelligence solutions provide item level visibility, workflow simplicity and actionable analytics, empowering stakeholders to deliver the right medicine to the right patient at the right time, every time. CostCheck™ provides insights into supply chain inefficiencies to optimize spending, maximize compliance, and enhance pharmacy management with real-time market insights. In addition, ControlCheck™ prevents drug diversion, audits all controlled substance administrations, and ensures best practice documentation in all clinical areas. To help bring full visibility to medication inventory, Kit Check™ provides a fully automated RFID-enabled solution.