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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 Management for Wheaton, Franciscan Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI. KAREN L. SHIELDS, B.S.PHARM., is Corporate Pharmacy Consultant, Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc., Mishawaka, IN. JULIANA E. QUAD, PHARM.D., is Pharmacy Manager, 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 at Chicago, 833 South Wood Street (M/C 886), Chicago, IL 60612 (schumock{at}uic.edu).

Purpose. The purposes of this study were to characterize and quantify workload and productivity in hospitals according to their size, to establish comparative statistics useful for pharmacy administrators as a means to contrast their efficiency to that of other hospitals of similar sizes, and to provide data to enable policymakers to better assess staffing and resource needs. Methods. A 50-item Web-based survey designed to illicit information about pharmacy department staffing, workload, and productivity was sent electronically to 242 members of Consorta, Inc., a grouppurchasing organization. Responses were received from 110 organizations, a response rate of 45.5%. The responses were categorized into three groups according to the number of staffed beds and were profiled and compared using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results. Pharmacy department workload and expenditures were primarily a function of hospital size: Hospital volume statistics, pharmacy expenditures, hours of operation, pharmacy full-time equivalents (FTEs), and dispensing workload all are highly dependent on the size of the facility. The range of clinical services provided by small, medium, and large hospitals did not differ with the exception of a few services provided more often in larger hospitals. Overall productivity ratios demonstrated greater efficiency among larger hospitals. In terms of costs, pharmacy and hospital expenditures per occupied bed and per admission generally decreased as hospital size increased. Conclusion. Results of a survey suggested consistency in clinical services provided by hospitals of varying size and increased productivity with increasing hospital size. Respondents employed fewer FTEs than those in other national surveys. Index terms: Clinical pharmacy; Costs; Data collection; Economics; Hospitals; Hours; Manpower; Pharmaceutical services; Pharmacy, institutional, hospital; Productivity; Size; Workload