Role of Pharmacy Analytics in Creating a Data-Driven Culture for Frontline Management

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to offer key recommendations based on the authors' experiences for utilizing pharmacy analytics to support moving beyond standard-of-practice operational metrics towards high impact reporting to drive day-to-day decisions for frontline leaders. Summary: There is a continuous and vast amount of data generated through all facets of a health system's daily operations, yet many data elements go unused and fail to contribute to value creation and increased performance at an organizational level. It is critical, therefore, for departments of pharmacy to identify and implement effective strategies to leverage data through robust business analytics and reporting, ensuring managers at every level are provided the information they need to support data-driven decisions and meaningful interventions in the day-to-day operations of the organization. At the authors' institution, development and growth of a dedicated Pharmacy Analytics (PA) team has been instrumental to the pharmacy department for generating value and proactively supporting a business intelligence strategy that focuses on a data-driven management culture. Key recommendations to leverage pharmacy analytics are provided within four overarching themes: building transparency, leveraging synergy, optimizing actionability, and prioritizing partnerships. Conclusion: Through creation of a data-driven management culture, the authors provide recommendations for leveraging pharmacy analytics to reduce costs and impact outcomes across a range of hospital pharmacy operations.