Enterprise medication inventory optimisation
Inventory optimisation is important because if a
drug inventory is excessively large this will lead to
unnecessary costs and if it is too small it will be
ineffective and counter-productive for patient safety.
Delegates highlighted that failure to provide
patients with medication in a timely manner may
lead to them obtaining medications from
alternative, and potentially dangerous, sources such
as the internet. Drug shortages was acknowledged as
one of the causes of this failure to provide patients
with medication on time.
Lack of medication visibility and inefficient stock
management at ward level can lead to drug wastage.
In England alone, the annual cost of prescription
medication wastage is approximately £300 million. 3
Optimisation of medication management can reduce
this wastage and result in substantial financial
savings.
problems was also deemed necessary. It was
mentioned that many people who have problems
with technology do not feed this back to those
running the systems, so rectification can never take
place.
If we aren’t
able to give it
[medication] to
patients, patients
get it from
Google, from
different kinds
of sources
Potential solutions
While the above challenges are complex and no
single solution is available, the delegates put
forward many promising suggestions.
Technology
Technology was unanimously advocated as a
potential solution to many of the challenges. As
summarised by one of the delegates, the key to
success is having people who understand the
systems, work with them and trust them. To ensure
optimal use of any technology it should user-
friendly, predictive and intuitive.
Pilar Blasco Segura,
Spain
Challenges faced
Extensive discussion and debate between delegates
highlighted the challenges faced in the real-world
setting when trying to achieve these three ‘pillars’ of
optimal medication management.
While numerous challenges were identified, the
key challenges experienced by delegates, regardless
of region were:
• Drug shortages
• Data standardisation
• Unfriendly computer applications AI to predict future medication needs
Dr Cousein discussed how the use of an AI system in
his hospital in Valenciennes has enabled their
emergency department to predict up to 90% of the
patient flow for the next seven days, based on
history, weather forecast and cultural events. It was
proposed that if an AI system could predict the
correct amounts of medications that need to be
stored in hospitals, this could massively improve
medications management, reducing the impact of
drug shortages and occurrence of drug wastage.
Drug shortages
Drug shortages are an ongoing issue faced by
healthcare professionals across Europe. They can
prevent the optimal medication being prescribed, be
time-consuming for staff, and result in patients
seeking medications from other sources, such as the
internet. Nearly half of hospital pharmacists in the
EU report spending up to 5 hours per week
managing medication shortages. 4 Unique ID barcodes
The use of a unique ID barcode to identify patients
and link them to any drugs, IV bags, blood
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Unfriendly computer applications
While IT has an important role to play in optimising
medication management, it is only beneficial if it is
easy to use and staff are adequately trained in its
use. Frustration and uncertainty regarding IT will
most certainly lead to decreased uptake and use.
Having an IT system which identifies any feedback
Prior to the advisory board, delegates submitted the challenges they perceived
to be present in the field of medication management. During the meeting these
challenges were rated in terms of significance as shown below.
Data standardisation
There was a strong consensus that the
standardisation of data is an ongoing challenge, but
that it is essential for it to be implemented at local,
national and international levels. As mentioned
previously, ‘closing the loop’ and reviewing
outcomes is a crucial part of optimising medication
management, to allow for error identification and
rectification. As pointed out by delegates, if the
definition of what an error is, has not yet been
standardised, how can we expect to record and
evaluate errors correctly? The absence of data
standardisation can lead to a lack of data, resulting
in errors going undetected and insufficient
information available for healthcare professionals to
make decisions. Once standardised and available,
this data must also be easily-accessible and
individuals must be proactive in translating that
data into an action and triggering beneficial change.
Data regarding disease incidence and patient
characteristics within a hospital can also help
customise a hospital’s drug inventory to best suit
their needs, which may reduce drug wastage and
mitigate the impact of drug shortages.
Challenges faced during medication management
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hospitalpharmacyeurope.com | 2019 | 5