Alam Shoaib, Osama Muhammad, Iqbal Faheem, Sawar Irfan
Sindh Government Hospital Korangi No. 5, Karachi, Pakistan.
Drug Information Centre, University of Karachi , Karachi, Pakistan.
Int J Health Care Qual Assur. 2018 Aug 13;31(7):834-844. doi: 10.1108/IJHCQA-08-2017-0144.
Pharmacy services start right from prescribing medicines and continue as the medication's effect is monitored. Hospital and community pharmacy staff promote rational prescribing and medicine use. Consequentially, pharmacy is a complex and busy field. Often there are peak workload hours when patients must wait, which is associated with patient dissatisfaction that may negatively affect patient experience and the organisation's reputation. The purpose of this paper is to enlist techniques, methods and technological advancements that have been successfully employed to reduce patient waiting time.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A database search was conducted in 2017 to locate articles addressing methods and technologies that reduce pharmacy waiting time. The literature revealed various techniques and technologies like queuing theory, tele-pharmacy, evidence-based pharmacy design, automated pharmacy systems (robotics), system modelling and simulation and the Six Sigma method for identifying potential problems associated with increased wait time.
The authors conclude that various techniques and methods, including automated queuing technology, tele-pharmacy, automated pharmacy devices/machines for quick and accurate filling and dispensing, computer simulation modelling, evidence-based pharmacy infrastructure for smooth workflow and Six Sigma can maintain customer satisfaction, reduce waiting time, attract new customers, decrease workload and improve the organisation's reputation.
The authors conclude that various techniques and methods, including automated queuing technology, tele-pharmacy, automated pharmacy devices/machines for quick and accurate filling and dispensing, computer simulation modelling, evidence-based pharmacy infrastructure for smooth workflow and Six Sigma methodology can maintain customer satisfaction, reduce waiting time, attract new customers, decrease workload and improve the organisation's reputation.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The authors carried out a literature search and identified the techniques that have been successfully implemented to reduce pharmacy patient waiting time and methods that can identify potential process behind medication dispensation delays.
药学服务从开药伊始，在药物疗效监测阶段仍持续进行。医院和社区药房工作人员致力于促进合理开药及用药。因此，药学是一个复杂且繁忙的领域。患者常常需要在工作量高峰时段等待，这会导致患者不满，可能对患者体验及机构声誉产生负面影响。本文旨在列举已成功用于减少患者等待时间的技术、方法和技术进步。
设计/方法/途径：2017年进行了数据库搜索，以查找论述减少药房等待时间的方法和技术的文章。文献揭示了各种技术，如排队论、远程药学、循证药学设计、自动化药房系统（机器人技术）、系统建模与仿真以及用于识别与等待时间增加相关潜在问题的六西格玛方法。
作者得出结论，包括自动排队技术、远程药学、用于快速准确配药的自动化药房设备/机器、计算机模拟建模、实现顺畅工作流程的循证药学基础设施以及六西格玛在内的各种技术和方法，可以维持客户满意度、减少等待时间、吸引新客户、减轻工作量并提升机构声誉。
作者得出结论，包括自动排队技术、远程药学、用于快速准确配药的自动化药房设备/机器、计算机模拟建模、实现顺畅工作流程的循证药学基础设施以及六西格玛方法在内的各种技术和方法，可以维持客户满意度、减少等待时间、吸引新客户、减轻工作量并提升机构声誉。
原创性/价值：作者进行了文献检索，确定了已成功实施的减少药房患者等待时间的技术以及可识别配药延迟背后潜在流程的方法。
