Authors (including presenting author) :
K.Y.Chan (1), P.K.Wong (1), C.Y.Chan (1), S.Y.Wong (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Pharmacy, Queen Mary Hospital
Introduction :
Pharmacy waiting time is critical in affecting patient experience for hospital service. Express Queue Dispensing Service (EQDS) is designed to triage one-item prescriptions for express dispensing in Pharmacies. It was introduced to HA Pharmacies in 2016 to improve dispensing efficiency, reduce waiting time and improve patient satisfaction. In Queen Mary Hospital (QMH), the service covered approximately 30% of out-patients. In November 2022, EQDS in QMH was expanded to include up-to-two-item prescriptions so that approximately 50% of the patients could enjoy the service.
Objectives :
To investigate the impact of expanding EQDS from one-item to up-to-two-item on Pharmacy waiting time with reference to the workload levels in QMH.
Methodology :
The study utilized a retrospective design analyzing waiting time and workload data collected from Pharmacy Management System in QMH. One year pre-(November 2021 to October 2022) and post-(December 2022 to November 2023) implementation data were compared to assess the impact of service expansion. Key metrics included average waiting time for express queue, normal queue and overall waiting time (i.e. express queue + normal queue) with reference to the average number of daily out-patient dispensing items during EQDS operating hour(i.e.10:00-18:00 on weekdays).
Result & Outcome :
The average daily number of dispensing items increased by 9.2% during the study period (5820 items vs 6355 items). Despite a significant increase in daily workload, the results demonstrated a drastic reduction in overall Pharmacy waiting time without compromising the waiting time for express queue following service expansion. Herein, the overall average waiting time decreased by 19 minutes (i.e. 34.5% decrease, from 55min to 36min). The average waiting time for express queue remained similar (i.e. 3.7% decrease, from 27min to 26min) while the average waiting time for normal queue decreased by 20 minutes (i.e. 30.8% decrease, from 65min to 45min). Dispensing staff ratio for express queue and normal queue was reviewed to support the increased workload for EQDS. Dispensing manpower and facilities were better utilized after the service expansion.
This study showed that expansion of EQDS could further improve dispensing efficiency, reduce Pharmacy waiting time and therefore, improve patient experience. Pharmacy management can use these findings in optimizing Pharmacy services to enhance patient-centered care. Further research in different Pharmacy settings is recommended to explore the generalizability of these findings.
