Staffing time saved through automated medicines storage

Context

The Scan4Safety initiative aimed to improve patient safety, improve operational efficiency and reduce costs within NHS hospitals. Scan4Safety technology may be used to improve inventory management systems in clinical areas in an acute NHS Trust.

Problem

Non-automated medicines inventory systems are not responsive to actual medicine use and demand. Clinical areas run out of medicines before their scheduled top-up, resulting in multiple requests for additional top-ups outside scheduled top-up days. The impact is that medicines are not available for patients, leading to missed or delayed doses of critical medicines.

Assessment of problem

Baseline data on the number of additional stock requests outside the scheduled top-up and the number of and time taken to process additional stock requests at weekends revealed the stock medicines supply service was inefficient. Anecdotal feedback from staff said this impacted the efficiency of the weekend service. 

Intervention

Automated medicines storage cabinets (Omnicell^®) were implemented to improve medicines inventory management in clinical areas. 

Strategy for change

The aims were to:

• optimise medicines stock holding in clinical areas to reduce the number of additional unscheduled stock requests
• reduce the risk of delayed or missed doses of critical medicines
• release nursing time to care by optimising pharmacy stock put away service.

Measurement of improvement

The impact of Omnicell^® implementation on stock medicine supply services was evaluated by:

• measuring the number of additional stock requests outside scheduled top-up pre- and post-Omnicell® implementation
• identifying the number of and time taken to process additional stock requests at weekends.

Effects of changes

Baseline data were collected pre-Omnicell^® implementation in July 2022 and compared with data post-Omnicell^® implementation in July 2023. A proxy estimate of five minutes per item was used for the process time for managing stock requests. Data collection excluded bulk fluids and controlled drugs as these followed different processes.

• A 38% reduction was seen in the number of additional top-ups outside of scheduled top-ups post-Omnicell^®
• A 41% reduction was seen in time taken to process additional stock requests, equating to 7.6 hours of staffing time saved per week.
• A 58% reduction was observed in the number of additional stock requests at a weekend, equating to 2.75 hours staffing time saved per weekend.

Conclusions

Omnicell^® medicines usage reports allow medicine storage cabinets to be configured based on actual medicines use demands and allow for early recognition of changes in medicine use and demand (e.g. winter pressures), thereby providing a responsive service.

Automated medicines inventory processes improve efficiency of stock medicine supply services and has allowed re-deployment of staffing to provide a stock put-away service in clinical areas. This has indirectly released nursing time to care.

Omnicell^® cabinets have improved patient safety through a monthly cycle counting of stock and expiry date checking, thereby reducing the risk of expired medicines and reducing the risk of delayed or missed doses of critical medicines. The impact of this intervention is being evaluated as a separate project.

Further work is underway to exploit the potential of Omnicell^® data analytics to reduce medicines waste.

Additional authors: N.Ali, I.Norman, L.Ball and K.Woodrow,

This study did not require ethics approval.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the UKCPA or its members. We encourage readers to follow links and references to primary research papers and guidance.