Pharmacology
Impact of Drug Shortages on Patient Safety and Pharmacy Operation Costs
The VA may benefit from facility-level drug shortage task forces, which can mitigate increased workload and institutional operation costs and...
Conclusion
The implementation of partial-fill and process education to FVAMC staff and veterans proved beneficial in reducing the expenditures and workload associated with partial-fill prescription processing. The continued use of the updated partial-fill guidance will provide a standardized approach for pharmacy staff when completing partial-fill prescriptions.
Facilities may consider annual reeducation on their guidance through a local TMS module, as well as occasional process reminders during staff meetings to improve staff adherence to the guidance. Moreover, the sustained incorporation of improved refill process education to new patients and with every prescription pickup could help guide the FVAMC veteran population to use pharmacy services more effectively. The adoption of such procedures may be useful for VA facilities’ health care system looking to maximize the use of funding provided for prescription services as well as improve veterans’ understanding of how to appropriately order prescription refills.