• The Revolution of Hospital Outpatient Pharmacy Fill Prescription Operation Procedure Reform: Yeezen General Hospital

Abstract

During peak times, hospitals in Taiwan typically have many people waiting for drugs despite pharmacists hard work in the dispensing station. The main problem is that dispensary space is limited, but there are numerous types of drugs. Therefore, pharmacists in the dispensing station must frequently walk, bend down, and squat to retrieve drugs. This increases the risks of physical and psychological health problems among pharmacists. In this case study, we consider the human factor and cross-field practices, namely “layout planning of the limited surroundings of dispensary space,” “drug box standardization,” “prescription demand frequencies combined with golden zone storage and storage location assignment,” “storage markers to foster the learning of the location of drugs,” and “magazine-style medicine replenishment.” These practices are revolutionary for the workflow planning in hospital outpatient pharmacy dispensing. This case study aims to train students in methods to reduce walking, bending, and squatting among pharmacists in a dispensing station. The benefits of the reforms are lower workplace pressure and dispensing negligence and faster dispensing speed. Students are expected to extend the practices of this case study to retailing, warehousing, and the logistics industry. Furthermore, the costs associated with these reforms are low, results are effective, and practices are easy for other hospitals to learn from and replicate.

Keywords: Human Factor, Layout Planning, Demand Frequencies, Golden Zone Storage, Workflow Planning