Which Responsibility Is Usually Handled By The Inventory Pharmacy Technician?
In most pharmacies, it is the job of the pharmacy technician to perform the crucial inventory management work of checking medications at least once a month for expiration dates and returning any that are found to the wholesaler or producer of the medicine.
Who is responsible for maintaining the inventory in the pharmacy?
Everyone who works in the pharmacy is accountable for keeping the inventory stocked at the appropriate levels. Pharmacy technicians are responsible for managing the third-party invoicing procedure in addition to placing stock orders.
What is inventory management in pharmacy?
In this introduction, we will cover the basics of inventory management, which includes the ordering, receiving, storing, issuing, and reordering of items. Inventory management is the heart of the pharmaceutical supply system.1 The purpose of this process is to arrive at decisions regarding inventory in such a way as to reduce the total cost of inventory while simultaneously maximizing product quality by making the most of limited resources in order to fulfill the actual requirements of customers in the most effective way possible.2 Approximately one third of the hospital’s budget is spent on the purchase of a variety of materials and supplies, including medications.
The other forty percent of the hospital’s budget is spent on the procurement and administration of stores.3 As a result of this, competent and efficient inventory management is crucial for bringing about considerable improvements in the administration of medical stores.4 & 5 The amount of money spent on drugs in developing nations accounted for 60–80% of their populations.6 However, in underdeveloped nations, up to 90 percent of the population is responsible for making their own financial arrangements to pay for treatment.7 According to the findings of a research carried out in Tanzania, the most common reason for stock shortages is the receipt of pharmaceuticals with expiration dates that are becoming close.8 The inventory control systems that are utilized for the distribution of medications in sub-Saharan Africa are directly responsible for a sizeable portion of the stock-outs that have occurred, which has led to demand seasonality and disruptions in facility access.9 & 10 Hospital administration has long been concerned with minimizing the expenses associated with logistics in the supply chain of healthcare.11, 12 However, pharmacy inventory management is a complex process, and the usual problems encountered when inventory is not tracked properly and inefficiency is excessive losses, improper technology use, and a lack of logistical infrastructure to store drugs, improper monitoring of drug expiration times, distribution problems, and irrational usage of drugs.
These are the typical issues that arise when inventory is not tracked properly and inefficiency is present.13 Because of this, the likelihood of running out of important pharmaceuticals or having an excess supply of them is increased, which in turn leads to a waste of financial resources, an increase in patients’ out-of-pocket costs, and, ultimately, a decrease in the quality of healthcare services.14 and 15 Both continuous management and the management of financial resources are affected by continuous management.16 It is very necessary for there to be a consistent supply of sufficient quantities of the required health commodities in order for the health services to be both efficient and credible.
By improving pharmacy inventory management, healthcare facilities are able to eliminate risks linked to patient safety, reconcile budget needs, conform to regulatory requirements, keep appropriate stock of goods, and maintain adequate stock levels.17 The categorization of medicines according to the level of importance they have (Vital, Essential, and Normal; VEN) or the amount of money they cost (Always, Better, and Control; ABC) is essential for efficient management of supply chains and control of budgets, respectively.18 Important pharmaceuticals have the ability to save patients’ lives and are essential for the delivery of fundamental medical care.
The use of essential medications is beneficial in warding off less severe but nonetheless significant kinds of sickness; nevertheless, the provision of essential medicines is not an absolute prerequisite for providing basic medical care. For conditions that are relatively small or that can heal on their own, normal drugs are prescribed.19 The ABC analysis is helpful in determining which aspects need more attention so that they may be controlled.
- In this case, 10% of the things used up around 70% of the money (Group A).
- The next 20% of things in the inventory use up 20% of the available financial resources (Group B), whereas the remaining 70% of items only account for 10% of the overall budget (Group C).20 It is possible to achieve significant control over the material sources by employing a combination of ABC analysis and VEN analysis, which is referred to as an ABC-VEN matrix.
Items from categories V and E are included in Category I. (AV, BV, CV, AE, AN). Category II is comprised of the goods that were left over from Groups E and B. (BE, CE, BN). The more desired and more affordable products are grouped together in Category III (CN).21
What ways can you as a pharmacy technician help to maintain an accurate inventory?
Ordering in Bulk The pharmacy staff are also able to keep track of which medications are dispensed the most, which will allow you to fine-tune how frequently you purchase them as well as how much you order of each medication. In order to maximize both the flow of cash and the efficiency of the workflow, the technicians are able to monitor not only the gross cost of the prescriptions but also their use.
What does inventory management include?
What Exactly Is Inventory Management? Inventory management is a process that assists businesses in determining which stocks to order, how much of each, and when. It keeps track of inventory from the time of acquisition till after the products have been sold.
- This method recognizes patterns and reacts to them so that there is always enough stock to fulfill client requests and that they are given adequate warning in the event that there is a shortage.
- After being sold, inventory transforms into revenue.
- Even though it is considered an asset on the balance sheet, cash might be held up while inventory is waiting to be sold.
As a result, having an excessive amount of stock both costs money and lowers cash flow. Inventory turnover is one metric that may be used to evaluate how well an organization manages its stock. Inventory turnover is a number used in accounting that indicates how frequently stock is sold within a certain time period.
Why is inventory management important?
Why is it so vital to properly manage inventory? – Inventory is frequently considered to be one of a company’s most important assets. A shortage of inventory can have severe repercussions in a variety of different businesses, including retail, food service, and manufacturing, amongst others.
In addition to being a liability, inventory is also something that might be seen as a risk. It may be susceptible to being stolen, damaged, or spoiled. It’s possible that having a huge inventory will result in less sales for your company. It does not matter what big your company is; having a reliable inventory management system is extremely crucial for any firm.
It is able to assist you in keeping track of all of your goods as well as determining the appropriate costs. Additionally, it can assist you in managing rapid shifts in client demand without compromising the quality of your products or the experience of your customers.
- This is especially crucial for firms that are working toward becoming organizations that are more focused on the needs of their customers.
- Companies that operate with intricate supply chains have an extra difficult challenge when it comes to striking a balance between the dangers of having too much inventory and not enough.
Inventory is often considered a current asset since most businesses have the intention of selling it within the next 12 months. For it to be deemed a current asset, it has to be evaluated and counted on a regular basis.
Which of the following is considered to be a primary responsibility of a pharmacy technician?
2. Process Prescription: Since one of the key responsibilities of a pharmacy technician is to process prescriptions for medications, it is imperative that you carefully examine each prescription. In order for it to be legal, you need to make sure that specific information, which includes the name of the physician, the business address, and the phone number of the business, is there.
- The patient’s name, address, and telephone number are some of the other particulars that need to be verified.
- You are required to investigate the dosage instructions, which include the dose of the drug, how frequently it should be taken, and for how many days, and then dispense the prescription in accordance with those recommendations.
You are required to speak with the pharmacist for any clarification, and the pharmacist, in turn, will get in touch with the prescribing physician if there are any questions.
What should pharmacy staff members look for when receiving inventory?
This is known as the Formulary System. The majority of hospitals and health care systems compile a list of drugs that doctors are allowed to prescribe to patients who are receiving treatment at the facility or within the system. This list, which is more often referred to as a formulary, serves as the foundation for the system that controls buying and inventories.
- The Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee is comprised of both medical and allied health professionals, and it is responsible for the development and maintenance of the formulary.
- In general, this group is made up of physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and administrators; however, there may also be people present from other fields, such as dieticians, risk managers, and case managers.
They work together to ensure that the pharmaceuticals that are listed on the formulary are those that are the safest, most effective, and least expensive. The items that should be stocked in the hospital pharmacy are determined by the products listed on the hospital’s formulary.
- In addition, third-party prescription pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) create plan-specific formularies for the patients who use their ambulatory services.
- In the course of providing care for their patients, employees working in community (retail) pharmacies regularly come across drug formularies that are unique to certain insurance plans; they then alter their inventory to reflect this.
Because of the dynamic needs of their patient population and, to some degree, the insurance plans that each patient has, most retail pharmacies do not place restrictions on the items that are available in their inventory in the same way that hospitals do.
- This is in contrast to hospital pharmacies, which do place such restrictions.
- As a result, the idea of formulary management looks very different depending on the kind of pharmacy that’s being used (e.g.
- , hospital versus retail pharmacy).
- Changes to the Format and Updates In most cases, the hospital formulary can be obtained in either computerized or written form (or both).
The formulary is created solely for the use of medical professionals who are engaged in the process of prescribing, distributing, administering, and monitoring the use of pharmaceuticals. In most cases, it is structured to provide users with information on product availability, acceptable therapeutic uses, suggested dose, and administration of pharmaceuticals.
Some formularies are arranged in alphabetical order by the name of the generic medicine; this is often done so that it may be cross-referenced with the goods sold under their brand names. Other formularies might be arranged according to the therapeutic drug class. The medication storage sections in the pharmacy are typically organized alphabetically, either by the generic name or the commercial name of the medicine, depending on the circumstance.
As a result, the formulary is able to assist the pharmacy technician in determining whether or not a product is stocked in the pharmacy as well as the location of the product should it be there. It is critical for pharmacy technicians to have a solid understanding of the process by which the formulary is kept up to date as well as the manner in which staff members are informed of any modifications made to the formulary and at what intervals.
- Regularly, the formulary will have medications added to it as well as removed from it; however, the frequency of these modifications will vary depending on the organization.
- Standard practice dictates that printed formularies be brought up to date once every 12 to 18 months.
- On the other hand, bound formulary handbooks are dependent on extra updates or the production of serial editions, whereas loose-leaf formularies and those that are maintained online are able to be updated continually and in a more timely manner.
Figure 19-4 presents an example listing from a formulary for your perusal. Other significant information that may be included in the formulary that is given under each listing is the dosage form, the strength and concentration of the medication, the size(s) of the package, the most prevalent adverse effects, and the instructions for its administration.
- In addition to this, certain establishments provide either the absolute or relative cost of the item in question.
- When picking a drug product from the inventory, the technician is required to take into consideration all of the product’s attributes, including the name of the product, the dose form, the strength or concentration, and the size of the packaging.
Reviewing each listing in great detail and giving it some thought will help reduce the number of mistakes made while choosing products. Protocol That Is Not Formulary In order to manage acceptable drug usage, the majority of hospitals adopt a formal approach.
This is done to maintain consistency with the standards and controls that are produced by an organized formulary system. Non-formulary drug usage refers to the process of procuring medications or other treatments from sources other than the approved hospital formulary. In most cases, when a prescriber orders a product that is not on the hospital formulary, the pharmacist will ask for a verbal or written justification for the use of the product and may challenge the request, if necessary, if there is a comparable or therapeutically equivalent product already on the hospital formulary.
In some circumstances, the usage of a nonformulary product is justified when its benefits are deemed to be greater to those of the other possible alternatives to formulary products that may be available (usually for a patient-specific or diseasespecific reason).
- Since the non-formulary procedure of the pharmacy may or may not prohibit the use of multiple dosage forms of a particular chemical entity, pharmacy technicians need to be aware of the policy that is in place at their respective institutions in order to provide accurate care.
- The P&T committee conducts routine assessments of the usage of non-formulary drugs in order to discover patterns and examine issues.
The results of these studies are used to determine whether or not new items should be added to the formulary throughout the course of time. Figure 19–4 presents a sample listing from the formulary.
What does inventory management include?
What Exactly Is Inventory Management? Inventory management is a process that assists businesses in determining which stocks to order, how much of each, and when. It keeps track of inventory from the time of acquisition till after the products have been sold.
- This method recognizes patterns and reacts to them so that there is always enough stock to fulfill client requests and that they are given adequate warning in the event that there is a shortage.
- After being sold, inventory transforms into revenue.
- Even though it is considered an asset on the balance sheet, cash can be held up while inventory is waiting to be sold.
As a result, having an excessive amount of stock both costs money and lowers cash flow. Inventory turnover is one metric that may be used to evaluate how well an organization manages its stock. Inventory turnover is a number used in accounting that indicates how frequently stock is sold within a certain time period.