%0 Journal Article
%T ASHP National Survey of Pharmacy Practice in Hospital Settings: Operations and Technology - 2023.
%A Schneider PJ
%A Pedersen CA
%A Ganio MC
%A Scheckelhoff DJ
%J Am J Health Syst Pharm
%V 81
%N 16
%D 2024 Aug 12
%M 38780002
%F 2.98
%R 10.1093/ajhp/zxae118
%X OBJECTIVE: Results of the 2023 ASHP National Survey of Pharmacy Practice in Hospital Settings are presented.
METHODS: Pharmacy directors at 1,497 general and children's medical-surgical hospitals in the United States were surveyed using a mixed-mode method of contact by email and mail. Survey completion was online using Qualtrics. IQVIA supplied data on hospital characteristics; the survey sample was drawn from IQVIA's hospital database.
RESULTS: The response rate was 21.6%. Inpatient pharmacists independently prescribe medications in 26.7% of hospitals. Advanced analytics are used in 5.7% of hospitals. Basic analytics are used in 87.3% of hospitals. Pharmacists work in ambulatory or primary care clinics in 54.2% of hospitals operating outpatient clinics. Most hospitals (86.1%) use automated dispensing cabinets as the primary method of maintenance dose distribution. Machine-readable coding is used in 73.6% of hospitals to verify doses during dispensing in the pharmacy. Autoverification functionality in the electronic health record system is used in 73.4% of hospitals. Most hospitals report some integration of pharmacy services to optimize patient care transitions (60.0%), while 24.9% report no integration. Traditional technician activities still predominate, but more advanced roles are emerging. Technologies to assist sterile product preparation are used in 62.8% of hospitals.
CONCLUSIONS: Drug distribution continues to trend toward decentralized models with medications available closer to patients. Technologies are enabling this transition to occur without a significant negative impact on patient safety. The pharmacy workforce is stable, and more advanced responsibilities are being assigned to pharmacy technicians, enabling pharmacists to increase their clinical role.