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. 2022 Jun 23;79(13):1103-1109.
doi: 10.1093/ajhp/zxac071.

Development of a system-wide pharmacy operational weighted workload model at a large academic health system

Autumn E Petersen  1 , Jacqueline M Zeeman  2 , Mary-Haston Vest  3 , Daniel H Schenkat  4 , Evan W Colmenares  5
Affiliations

Development of a system-wide pharmacy operational weighted workload model at a large academic health system

Autumn E Petersen et al. Am J Health Syst Pharm. .

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a standard operational and distributional weighted workload model that is applicable across an integrated, diverse healthcare system. This model aims to not only demonstrate the operational intensity of pharmacy practice but also to inform opportunities to decrease waste, increase efficiency, facilitate growth, and demonstrate value across operational and distributional pharmacy services.

Summary: Time studies were conducted at 8 hospitals within the UNC Health system to objectively measure time spent within each operational process in order to create a system-wide weighted workload model. Time study results informed the development of a system-wide weighted workload model. Data from December 29, 2019, through December 26, 2020, was then applied to this weighted workload model. With this model, acute care hospital and infusion center operational areas were compared in thousands of combinations within single operational areas and across any and all operational areas by dispense code, weighted work, and ratio of weighted work to total sum of dispenses at each site.

Conclusion: The model successfully achieved the objective to develop a standard operational weighted workload model that is applicable across the integrated, diverse care system. This model provides a foundation for UNC Health to further productivity measurement and fills a gap in the literature by offering a novel method of developing a system-level operational workload model that can be used to evaluate and compare operational workloads across health-system sites.

Keywords: operational workload; pharmacy operations; pharmacy productivity; pharmacy workload; productivity model; weighted workload model.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Ratio comparison of sum of weighted work to number of dispenses between Caldwell Inpatient Pharmacy and Nash Inpatient Pharmacy.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Comparison of nonhazardous IV weighted workload and sum of number of dispenses between Caldwell Inpatient Pharmacy and Nash Inpatient Pharmacy.
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Comment in

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