Survey of outpatient pharmaceutical services in university hospitals

The results of a 1978 survey of outpatient pharmacies in university-affiliated hospitals are reported. A questionnaire with 55 items was sent to 75 university-affiliated hospitals with outpatient clinics. Sixty hospitals responded. Of the 47 usable responses, 44 were from hospitals with outpatient pharmacies. The outpatient pharmacies served a mean of 163 patients/day, dispensing a mean of 295 prescriptions/day. Prescriptions from outpatient clinics accounted for a mean of 57% of the outpatient pharmacies' prescriptions. Only four outpatient pharmacies provided 24-hour, seven-day/week services; the remainder provided a mean 11.1 hours of service per day on weekdays. The mean number of full-time equivalent pharmacists employed in the outpatient pharmacies (2.9) correlated positively with the number of prescriptions dispensed daily. The straight-fee pricing system was used by 62% of outpatient pharmacies but pricing systems varied with the type of product dispensed. Computer services were used in 28% of the outpatient pharmacies but were restricted mainly to accounting and inventory functions. Only 15% of the outpatient pharmacies maintained patient profiles for all patients served, and only 21% conducted special patient education programs in drug therapy.