Time Investment in Drug Supply Problems by Flemish Community Pharmacies

Introduction: Drug supply problems are a known problem for pharmacies. Community and hospital pharmacies do everything they can to minimize impact on patients. This study aims to quantify the time spent by Flemish community pharmacies on drug supply problems. Materials and Methods: During 18 weeks, employees of 25 community pharmacies filled in a template with the total time spent on drug supply problems. The template stated all the steps community pharmacies could undertake to manage drug supply problems. Results: Considering the median over the study period, the median time spent on drug supply problems was 25 min per week, with a minimum of 14 min per week and a maximum of 38 min per week. After calculating the median of each pharmacy, large differences were observed between pharmacies: about 25% spent less than 15 min per week and one-fifth spent more than 1 h per week. The steps on which community pharmacists spent most time are: (i) "check missing products from orders," (ii) "contact wholesaler/manufacturers regarding potential drug shortages," and (iii) "communicating to patients." These three steps account for about 50% of the total time spent on drug supply problems during the study period. Conclusion: Community pharmacies spend about half an hour per week on drug supply problems. Although 25 min per week does not seem that much, the time spent is not delineated and community pharmacists are constantly confronted with drug supply problems.