Ep 76 - Pharmacies - A lot goes on behind the counter providing customer satisfaction

We’ve have said over and over that quality is not just for
manufacturing or oil and gas.  ISO 9001, quality management
and policies and procedures can benefit any industry.  This is
a case study of a pharmacy that decided to look for opportunities
for improvement.  The article was written in 2005 and at that
time staffing rates were down, for techs and pharmacists,
prescriptions were up, and the increase in pharmacists projection
wasn’t going to fill the need.  This still seems true today as
pharmacists and techs often seem rushed, overworked and
prescriptions often aren’t ready upon pick up.  This anonymous
pharmacy created a Performance Improvement team that consisted of
13 stakeholders.  Their goals were to improve patient
satisfaction, improve employee satisfaction, and improve business
practices.  The team administered Work Environment Scales
(WES) to the employees to establish a baseline.  Each staff
member was asked to complete a fishbone diagram.  The team got
to work on many areas at once.  They renovated the waiting
area and the actual pharmacy work environment, opened an additional
cashier’s booth and the list goes on.  While all improvements
make sense and worked toward the greater good of quality, I found
the “express line” interesting.  Upon receipt of
prescriptions, staff separated them into fast fills and
routines.  The pharmacy then dedicated one tech and one
pharmacist to the express line.  Overall, the pharmacy saw a
reduction in fill time of 44 minutes, patient satisfaction and
employee satisfaction both increased.  In addition, surveys
showed improvements in physical comfort and lessened work
pressure.  Quality can help any industry and we were pleased
to find this study on a pharmacy.
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