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SHIRAZ R. GUPTA, PHARM.D., is Research Fellow, Center for Pharmacoeconomic Research and Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). JEFFREY E. WOJTYNEK, PHARM.D., is Director, Clinical–Contracting Pharmacy Integration, Consorta Inc., Schaumburg, IL. SURREY M. WALTON, PH.D., is Associate Professor, Center for Pharmacoeconomic Research and Department of Pharmacy Administration, College of Pharmacy, UIC. JOSEPH T. BOTTICELLI, M.S., is System Director of Pharmacy, Cardinal Health Pharmacy Services, Covenant Healthcare System Inc., Milwaukee, WI. KAREN L. SHIELDS, B.S.PHARM., is Division Director of Pharmacy, Greater Lafayette Health Services, Inc., Lafayette, IN. JULIANA E. QUAD, PHARM.D., is Pharmacy Clinical Services Coordinator, Saint Clare’s Hospital, Denville, NJ. GLEN T. SCHUMOCK, PHARM.D., M.B.A., FCCP, is Director, Center for Pharmacoeconomic Research, and Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, UIC.

Address correspondence to Dr. Schumock at the Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois, 833 South Wood Street (M/C 886), Chicago, IL 60612 (schumock{at}uic.edu).

Purpose. The purpose of this survey was to identify and characterize pharmacy productivity monitoring systems used in community hospitals that were part of a national group purchasing organization (GPO). Methods. A 50-item questionnaire was developed, pretested, and sent electronically to the directors of pharmacy at 242 member hospitals of Consorta, Inc., a national GPO. The questionnaire was designed to elicit information on (1) hospital pharmacy demographics, (2) systems used to measure hospital pharmacy productivity, and (3) staffing levels and workload. Hospital demographic data were also obtained for respondent and nonrespondent hospitals from the American Hospital Association’s AHA Guide. Descriptive statistics, Student’s t tests, and chi-square tests were used to characterize the data and compare respondents with nonrespondents. Results. Responses were received from 110 hospitals (45.5%). No clinically significant differences were found when respondent and nonrespondent hospitals were compared based on AHA Guide data. The productivity workload ratios monitored most often by respondent hospitals were full-time equivalents (FTEs) per adjusted patient day, FTEs per dose dispensed, and FTEs per dose billed. Respondents reported a mean ± S.D. of 21.90 ± 18.83 actual FTEs and total doses dispensed, billed, or administered per year of 111,391.4 ± 111,538.0. A major limitation of the productivity systems used in the hospitals was the inability of the systems to account for clinical services performed by the pharmacy staff. Conclusion. A survey of community hospitals indicated that although most engaged in productivity monitoring, systems for such measurement often failed to capture all relevant clinical workload data. Index terms: Clinical pharmacy; Data collection; Manpower; Methodology; Pharmaceutical services; Pharmacy, institutional, hospital; Productivity; Workload