Workload Evaluation of the Modified Unit Dose System in Inpatient Pharmacy: A Study at Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Abstract

Introduction:
Inpatient pharmacy services provided specialized medication distribution tailored to the needs of hospitalized patients. Typically, hospitals under the Malaysian Ministry of Health implemented either unit-of-use (UOU) or unit-of-dose (UOD) dispensing systems. However, many pharmacy departments lacked the resources to operate seven days a week. To address these limitations, our institution adopted a modified unit-of-dose system (MUDS). This study aimed to evaluate the workload associated with MUDS in the inpatient pharmacy unit and to analyze the volume of items and time required for processing returned medications.
Methods:
A 62-day cross-sectional study was conducted at the satellite pharmacies of Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Data were collected on working days. The total preparation time for each medication trolley, from check-in to completion, was recorded, along with the time required to return unused drugs to the satellite pharmacies. The total duration needed for returning these items was also documented. All data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Results:
The study involved 12 pharmacists and 14 pharmacy assistants across six satellite pharmacies, who prepared a total of 968 medication trolleys. The mean time required to complete the preparation of a medication trolley was 105.6 ± 40.0 minutes. Of the total items, 32,902 (9.2%) were returned, with the time required for returning these unused medications ranging from 85.0 to 1432.8 minutes.
Conclusion:
MUDS imposes a significant workload on both pharmacists and pharmacy assistants, as evidenced by the preparation of medication trolleys and the time required for returning medications. These findings highlight the necessity for further investigation into optimizing dispensing systems to improve efficiency and reduce the burden on pharmacy personnel.