Use of demand surveys to support budget requests

Like pharmacy staff members at many hospitals, pharmacy personnel at Deborah Heart and Lung Center have been affected by new programs or increased activities undertaken by their organization and/or other departments requiring pharmacy support. At Deborah, these programs and activities were initiated after department budgets for the year were already approved. For the past 2 years the pharmacy department has employed a method of planning that effectively eliminated this problem as well as supported budget requests for increased services.