Hospital Pharmacy Setting Research Articles

Rapid colorimetric assay for gentamicin injection

A rapid colorimetric method for determining gentamicin concentration in commercial preparations of gentamicin sulfate injection was developed. Methods currently available for measuring gentamicin concentration via its colored complex with cupric ions in alkaline solution were modified to reduce the time required for a single analysis. The alkaline copper tartrate (ACT) reagent solution was prepared such that each milliliter contained 100 mumol cupric sulfate, 210 mumol potassium sodium tartrate, and 1.25 mmol sodium hydroxide. The assay involves mixing 0.3 mL gentamicin sulfate injection 40 mg/mL (of gentamicin), 1.0 mL ACT reagent, and 0.7 mL water; the absorbance of the resulting solution at 560 nm was used to calculate the gentamicin concentration in the sample. For injections containing 10 mg/mL of gentamicin, the amount of the injection was increased to 0.5 mL and water decreased to 0.5 mL. The concentration of gentamicin in samples representing 11 lots of gentamicin sulfate injection 40 mg/mL and 8 lots of gentamicin sulfate injection 10 mg/mL was determined. The specificity, reproducibility, and accuracy of the assay were assessed. The colored complex was stable for at least two hours. Gentamicin concentration ranged from 93.7 to 108% and from 95 to 109% of the stated label value of the 40 mg/mL and the 10 mg/mL injections, respectively. No components of the preservative system present in the injections interfered with the assay. Since other aminoglycosides produced a colored complex, the assay is not specific for gentamicin. The assay was accurate and reproducible over the range of 4-20 mg of gentamicin. This rapid and accurate assay can be easily applied in the hospital pharmacy setting.

Marketing Perspectives of Hospital Pharmacy Directors

The familiarity of hospital pharmacy directors (HPDs) with various marketing concepts for the development of pharmaceutical services was assessed. A questionnaire was designed to assess whether (1) HPDs seek input from relevant publics when evaluating or designing pharmaceutical services; (2) HPDs use marketing concepts in the development and implementation of pharmaceutical programs; and (3) marketing perspectives of HPDs differ depending on their institutional affiliations and personal characteristics. The questionnaire was sent to 320 HPDs in seven states. A total of 158 unable questionnaires were received. In response to the questions concerning input from relevant publics, HPDs agreed that they should seek input from all relevant publics with the exception of third-party agencies and patients. HPDs put more emphasis on obtaining information for evaluating existing programs and designing long-term plans from physicians, nurses, patients, and hospital administrators and less emphasis on understanding the needs of third-party agencies. HPDs seem to use marketing concepts in the development and implementation of pharmaceutical programs. HPDs indicated a clear perception of pharmacy goals, target segments among relevant publics, and a dynamic orientation toward changes in the health-care marketplace. Hospital size, level of pharmaceutical education, and years of administrative experience were found to influence the marketing perspectives of HPDs. HPDs were familiar with marketing concepts, and a favorable climate seems to exist for transferring marketing approaches to the hospital pharmacy setting.

Comparison of two methods of observing work areas in a hospital pharmacy

Two methods of observing the work area within a pharmacy of an acute care, 140-bed hospital were compared. A work activity recording form was developed from the literature and from discussion with the pharmacy staff. The instrument was coded, tested, and refined in a pilot study. One hospital pharmacy department work area was personally observed for a period of time equal to an entire work week. A time-motion camera was placed in the pharmacy which recorded the activities in the same pharmacy work area for a second work week. The results indicated that the two methods of observation were approximately equivalent for observing the work activities of the nonpharmacists but not for the work activities of the pharmacists. The camera method of observing work areas of a hospital pharmacy appeared to be reliable and inexpensive, but it lacked the precision obtained with the personal observation mode. Further use of time-motion cameras within the hospital pharmacy setting are indicated.