Hospital labor cost savings in dispensing analgesics: controlled versus noncontrolled

Indications for some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as analgesics in mild to moderate pain have contributed to their increased usage in hospitals. Since controlled substance drugs with lower acquisition costs have been the mainstay of analgesic therapy, it has been questioned whether there are possible cost of distribution advantages in using a noncontrolled substance instead of a controlled substance analgesic. The difference in labor costs involved in dispensing the oral noncontrolled substance, ibuprofen, as compared to the oral controlled substance, acetaminophen with codeine, was investigated using time and motion study techniques. Results indicate that at Bronson Methodist Hospital, there was a +0.79 labor cost savings involved in the daily dispensing of six doses of the noncontrolled substance versus the controlled substance analgesic.