Pharmacy Automation is Key Driver for the Profession’s Advancement
ASHP’s Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative Calls for Greater Use of Technology to Free Hospital Pharmacists for Clinical Roles
The Pharmacy profession will continue to evolve, with Pharmacists providing ever higher levels of patient care—including medication prescribing as part of a collaborative team—as certified pharmacy technicians assume virtually every distributive function that does not require clinical judgment.
Among the key drivers for this ideal future state: pharmacy automation.
These are among the most dramatic ideals advanced by the Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative (PPMI) Summit, held in Dallas, Texas, November 7-9, 2010.
The event was convened by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the ASHP Foundation. A draft of the Summit Recommendations was issued February 1, 2011.
McKesson Automation supports the PPMI, and applauds the voters’ decision to call for more and higher uses of pharmacy automation in distributive medication processes
The PPMI recommendations reflect consensus-based beliefs reached by the more than 100 voting Summit participants. The group gained consensus on all but a handful of approximately 200 statements that addressed overarching principles, specific services, use of technology and technicians, and pathways for implementing change.
Specifically, the PPMI recognized automation technology as a key enabler in the development of optimal pharmacy practice models:
- Use of barcode technology during the inventory, preparation, compounding and dispensing processes. (C2j)
- Automated dispensing/robotics. (C2k)
- Use of barcode technology during medication administration. (C2l)
However, the PMMI also noted that in order to achieve the “optimal pharmacy practice model,” pharmacists will have to overcome sizeable obstacles in their own practices. Those obstacles include capital limitations, the need for qualified staff, gaining the support from leadership, resistance to change from current pharmacy staff and some state regulations that mandate a pharmacist’s involvement in distributive tasks.
Other noteworthy statements passed at the Dallas PMMI Summit include:
Optimal Pharmacy Practice Models
- Pharmacists must have oversight and responsibility for medication distribution. (B27a)
- The role of pharmacists in frontline practice should not be limited to drug distribution and reactive order processing. (B27b)
- Individual pharmacists should not be engaged specifically in drug‐therapy management without an understanding and responsibility for the medication‐use or delivery systems. (B27c)
- Individual pharmacists must accept responsibility for both the clinical and the distributive activities of the pharmacy department. (B27d)
- Clinical specialist positions are necessary to advance practice, education and research activities. (B27e)
Medication Distribution
- As an essential member of the health care team, pharmacists must have privileges to write medication orders in the health care setting. (B13)
- Through credentialing and privileging processes, pharmacists should include in their scope of practice prescribing as part of the collaborative practice team. (B14)
- To support optimal pharmacy practice models, technicians must be certified by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. (D6)
- To support optimal pharmacy practice models, technicians must be licensed by state boards of pharmacy. (D8)
- All distributive functions that do not require clinical judgment should be assigned to technicians. (D9)