National survey of hospital pharmacy facilities: planning and design experience

Recent major renovation or construction programs of hospital pharmacy facilities and pharmacists' involvement in the planning process for those new facilities are described. A 12-page questionnaire was sent in July 1982 to the chief pharmacists in a random sample of 1846 hospitals in the United States stratified by 10 hospital types. The percentage of hospitals of each type involved in an ongoing or recent (within the preceding 10 years) major renovation or construction project of all or part of the pharmacy was determined. Of those respondents having an ongoing or recent major project, the extent and timing of pharmacists' involvement in the planning process were determined for hospitals of each type. The response rate was 45.6%, and the respondents were representative of the population. Thirty percent of all hospitals had not altered their pharmacy facilities within the preceding 10 years. Nonprofit general medical-surgical hospitals and federal hospitals had the highest percentages of recent projects (78% and 79%, respectively); projects were more likely to involve a new pharmacy facility than remodeling. In 1982, 27% of all respondents had a major pharmacy facilities project under way. Of respondents with an ongoing or recent project, 38% were asked to propose needs for new pharmacy facilities, 45% served on the planning team, and 20% anticipated the need for new facilities; space and location were predetermined without pharmacist involvement in 25% of all cases. Two percent of the respondents had no notice of the deadline for finalizing plans for the new facilities; 22% had one to six months' notice, and 48% had over a year.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)