"Very good presentation and well worth the 120 mile drive."

"Excellent experienced speaker." (NACDS)

"Great information"

The Efficient Pharmacy: Automation & Design is a 2-part, 110-minute presentation and workshop. Part 1 provides community pharmacists with an understanding of the methods and tools available to improve productivity in pharmacy operations, including an overview and comparison of available dispensing automation. Part 2 helps community pharmacists improve productivity in their pharmacy through better design and workflow. Part 2 is followed by an interactive design workshop utilizing architectural scale models of a dispensary.
Please note that Parts 1 and 2 can be presented as independent and mutually exclusive 1-hour programs.

Objectives: Upon completing the seminar, participant's will be able to:

1. Recognize inefficiencies in dispensing operations
   
2. Identify the types of improvements that can be made to improve cost-effectiveness and efficiency
   
3. Describe the types of automation and technology available to assist the pharmacist and his/her staff in minimizing dispensing errors, improving patient safety and reducing stress.
   
4. Recognize inefficiencies in pharmacy design,
   
5. Identify the types of improvements to pharmacy layout that can be made to improve efficiency,
   
6. Identify ways to improve patient access and communications,
   

1. Automation: The objective of automation is to provide the most cost-effective operation which integrates an accurate dispensing methodology and a high quality service methodology. Attendees will be exposed to a range of proven, as well as new and emerging technology including automated prescription filling, robotics, and other technology currently available for medication counting. Attendees will be presented with criteria for automation--accuracy, speed, security, size, etc.
   
2. Information Systems: Including systems for answering phone calls, processing refills, and systems to improve both filling and checking functions.
   
3. Dispensary design and workflow: The objective is to provide a systematic approach to assessing workflow patterns (layout), job analysis, ergonomic factors, etc. with a view to minimizing traffic flow and personnel movement and enhancing pharmacist accessibility. After being covered in the lecture portion, attendees will work in groups to analyze a typical pharmacy design looking for design flaws, workflow inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
   

Importance to Pharmacists: There are many challenges and concomitant opportunities for pharmacists today forcing a change from product distribution to patient care and disease management. While there are many barriers to a successful--shift improving dispensary operations through automation, re-design and more efficient use of clerical and professional staff can help free valuable pharmacist's time and enhance patient-pharmacist interaction. Through an exposure to existing and new technologies, pharmacists can expand their traditional practice with new revenue generating services. According to an article developed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), a pharmacy system should be designed to eliminate the causes of error, especially unreasonable pharmacist workloads--automation and a more efficient layout can help reduce workloads and stress.