PharmaTrend as a management tool: implementation in a university hospital

The implementation of ASHP's hospital pharmacy management information system, PharmaTrend, in a university hospital is described. The pharmacy department at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics (UWHC) is a decentralized operation with 63.5 pharmacist full-time equivalents (FTEs) and 81.6 supportive staff FTEs. The multipharmacy capability of PharmaTrend, which allows workload and productivity data for several pharmacies (usually satellites) to be combined into total departmental data for a given period, was used by UWHC to describe the pharmacy department's major cost centers individually. These centers were inpatient services, outpatient services, home health i.v. services, and two offsite pharmacies. Data were divided into elements collected by computer, elements not previously collected or requiring new procedures, and elements requiring manual collection. Data entry forms specific to each cost center were developed. With these forms, collected data can be categorized appropriately by technical staff members. Work hour allocation for each cost center was determined on the basis of PharmaTrend definitions and institution-specific considerations; only those hours reflecting direct fiscal burden of the department on the hospital were included. A manual process for collecting and categorizing data on hours worked and hours paid was automated and adapted for use in PharmaTrend. Finally, some preliminary experience with the system was obtained so that information could be collected for the development of policies, procedures, and training methods and on the use of forms and categorization methods. In particular, the time requirements for collecting, categorizing, and entering selected PharmaTrend data by cost center were determined. Optimal use of PharmaTrend requires creativity and a commitment of time and effort.