Combating Drug Shortages: What Pharmacists Can Do Today

Though shortages of Adderall and Amoxicillin made national headlines in 2022, hospital pharmacies have been facing drug shortages for the past five years and counting. That is according to Bluesight’s 2022 State of Hospital Pharmacy Operations report which found that 79% of responding facilities were experiencing shortages of ten or more medications, a 4% increase over 2021 figures. As if not enough medication to go around isn’t concerning enough, shortages seriously impact operational efficiency.  Managing low medication inventory is very time-consuming for hospital staff members and takes away from higher priority tasks. In the same Bluesight study, 83% of larger hospitals (750+ beds) said that staff was spending 30+ hours managing shortages. It is fair to say that at least some of that time would be better spent focused on patient interaction.

One way hospitals can gain back valuable time is by using reliable automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs). Today’s ADCs are robust, affordable, and specifically designed to help pharmacists better manage drug inventory, an essential part of combating shortages. Medication security and workflow efficiency are crucial to the medication delivery process, so it’s important to look for ADCs that offer the widest range of interchangeable dispensing hardware powered by fully integrated software platforms. Doing so will ensure that pharmacy and nursing professionals have everything they need to work smarter rather than harder.  Features like remote medication queuing maximize time spent with patients and minimize the time needed at the ADC. Improved inventory visibility enables pharmacy professionals to quickly and easily manage inventory and reduce stock outs across all cabinets in any one facility. Read more >