Living Pharmacy Research Articles

A simulation model for management of operations in the pharmacy of a hospital

A need exists for a readily usable tool for different operations management strategies in a pharmacy of a hospital. A simulation model of a pharmacy, incorporating the major activities in relation to processing of regular orders, emergency orders and outdoor orders has been presented. The model has been programmed using the simulation language SIMAN. Several complexities like getting clarifications on drug orders and preparation of I.V. drugs have been included. Turnaround times of orders and utilizations of pharmacist, order technician and order entry technician have been investigated and found to be comparable to a real life pharmacy. Detailed description has been presented about how an operating manager may use the model to evaluate various operating strategies. Sensitivity analysis of a few parameters has been presented to illustrate some important relationships. Performance measures estimated by the model are found to be very similar to a real life hospital pharmacy.