Workplace redesign: meeting the challenge of change while living within your resources

It is 9 months after reconfiguration, and it is safe to say that the operation is a success. The quality of distributive service provided by the department has improved. Pharmacists and technicians report a higher degree of job satisfaction, and the dimension and quality of the clinical programs now cannot be compared with before. Future plans are to evaluate technician order entry as a means of further increasing pharmacists' time for clinical activities. This must be accomplished in a manner that ensures appropriate concurrent monitoring and screening of orders with compromising patient therapy. The department also is planning follow-up surveys that address the staff's attitudes regarding the reconfiguration. Recognizing change as a dynamic process, we plan to continue involving the entire pharmacy staff in the planning and implementation of future change. While we as managers were able to recognize the need for global change, it is our staff who helped us identify specific changes that led us to the needed skill mix adjustment. It is also essential that the staff understand that resources are limited and that is why compromise is sometimes necessary.