Time and cost requirements for decentralized pharmacist activities

Time and cost requirements for pharmaceutical services in patient-care areas at a 548-bed university hospital were studied. The study was conducted in 1987 and 1988 to (1) define the clinical and distributive activities of decentralized pharmacists, (2) develop time standards for each activity, (3) determine whether the time requirements of decentralized pharmacists depend on the type of patient involved, (4) determine the actual costs of decentralized pharmacist services for various types of patient, and (5) compare costs with reimbursement for clinical pharmacy services. Time standards were established based on data from seven patient categories representing a cross section of the institution's patients. The mean frequency of each activity and the total time and cost per patient day for all activities were determined. Pharmacist time spent daily in each patient-service category ranged from 2.3 hr for low-intensity medical care to 20.8 hr for trauma-burn intensive care. Decentralized pharmacists spent approximately 50% of their time on clinical activities in all patient-service categories. The daily cost per patient day for clinical activities was lowest for low-intensity medical care and highest for adult intensive care. The institution's daily charge for clinical activities ($10/admission and $10/day) exceeded the cost of clinical services during the study period. The decentralized pharmacist time requirement per patient day, and thus the costs of delivering pharmaceutical services, varied by patient-service category. The provision of clinical services generated a profit. A pharmacy workload analysis system that can identify costs and correlate them with patient types can be valuable in hospital pharmacy management.