Outpatient (Ambulatory) Pharmacy; an Innovation in Dispensing System to Optimize Performance and Meet Standards

Emad I. Hammouda, Sarah E. Hammouda
2012 Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs Open Access  
Services and dynamic activities of hospital pharmacy are affecting public health and welfare. Outpatient pharmacy is a section of hospital pharmacy department that is required to provide the following scope of services and activities to hospital customers: 1. Delivery of medication-related services to outpatients and health care providers working within hospital premises 2. Dispensing of home care medications 3. Generation of invoices for payment according to agreed payment systems 4.
more » ... reconciliation 5. Patient and family Education 6. Counseling patients on related medication regimens 7. Offering retail sale of health-related materials 8. Handling and managing patients excess or old medications 9. Home medication review 10. Documentation of daily pharmacy practice Quality of pharmacy services is surely influenced by organization priorities, targets and leadership commitments [1]. Relentless efforts have been made through last decades to gain patients and healthcare organizations satisfaction regarding patients waiting time, effective counseling and reduction of medication errors without a noticeable success. A breakthrough innovation in dispensing system is needed to overcome this nagging issue in a reliable and comprehensive fashion. The above mentioned services are regarded as a prerequisite to improve quality, work flow and promote customer's satisfaction and this can be achieved through three basic elements including: Adaptive design Qualified and well trained staff 3. An effective process The mission is to provide a pharmacy service that is able to achieve "improved health and well-being, best quality of care and value for all stakeholders". The innovation in dispensing system is optimistically targeted to achieve this mission and keeps extended open venues for improvement in pharmacy performance. Citation: Hammouda EI, Hammouda SE (2012) Outpatient (Ambulatory) Pharmacy; an Innovation in Dispensing System to Optimize Performance and Meet Standards.
doi:10.4172/2167-7689.1000101 fatcat:us45ihrq7ncudfkfw5k77ojho4