Express Queue Service in SOPD Pharmacies
Jessica Wong
Pharmacist Pharmacy Informatics & Automation Technology team
Chief Pharmacist’s Office, HAHO
Project objectives
1. To improve dispensing efficiency and reduce patient waiting time at Specialist Out-patient Clinic (SOPC) Pharmacy
2. To enhance overall patient satisfaction on drugs collection at SOPC Pharmacy
3. To improve staff morale and job satisfaction
Picking stations
working benches
Data Entry
Assembly station
Check & Issue
Conveyor belt
wor
king
ben
ches
Express Dispensing System (EDS) introduced in 1997
No triage
All patients wait alike
Congested waiting hall
Issues to tackle
Patients choose to leave
Drugs remain uncollected
New Model Development - Express Queue
Data
Analysis
Congestion in waiting hall
Many uncollected prescriptions
Prolonged waiting time
One item prescriptions - Up to 30% of total workload
Management meeting
Collect user requirements Program development
User Acceptance Test
Prepare to
rollout
2015 2016 Begin rollout
User meeting
User Acceptance Test user training
Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Oct Nov Sep Dec Jan
Express Queue (Model A)
Picking stations
working benches
Data Entry
Assembly station
Check & Issue
Conveyor belt
wor
king
ben
ches
Express Queue (Model B)
Overcoming hurdles
Design & customize new workflow for individual pharmacies
Maintaining performance of other queues for drug collection
Enablers • Management support in changing patient flow & pharmacy
set up
• IT system readiness : support site-specific configuration
• Staff acceptance and compliance
Patients’ acceptance & expectation
Revamp in SOPC Pharmacy (e.g. physical set up)
Enablers & Challenges
Overall improvements
Collaborative Efforts of CPO , Local Hospital Pharmacies & ITD
Overall waiting time improved
One item prescriptions: Sustainable & significant ↓↓↓ of waiting time • PWH: ↓ >80% (~100 minutes)
reduction in peak hours • QEH: ↓ >60% (~30 minutes)
Significant reduction of staff overtime • from 30-60 min to 0-30 min per day
Less congestion in waiting hall
Significant reduction of Uncollected prescriptions
Reduced patient enquiries / complaints
Waiting Time Improvement • Reduced patients’ waiting time for dispensing of both one-item Rx (from
60-90min down to 10-20 mins) and other prescriptions • Sustainable improvement in performance
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
(min) Dispensing Waiting Time by Weekday_April 2016
QEH ACC Pharmacy
Express
Normal
0102030405060708090
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
(min) Dispensing Waiting Time by Weekday_Sept 2015
LKSSC Pharmacy
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
(min)
Dispensing Waiting Time by Weekday_Sept 2015 QEH ACC Pharmacy
0102030405060708090
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
(min) Dispensing Waiting Time by Weekday_April 2016
LKSSC Pharmacy
Express
Normal
0102030405060708090
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
(min) Dispensing Waiting Time by Weekday_Sept 2016
LKSSC Pharmacy
Express
Normal
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
(min) Dispensing Waiting Time by Weekday_Sept 2016
QEH ACC Pharmacy
Express
Normal
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Mon Tue
Wed
Thur Fr
i
Mon Tue
Wed
Thur Fr
i
Mon Tue
Wed
Thur Fr
i
Mon Tue
Wed
Thur Fr
i
05-D
ec
06-D
ec
07-D
ec
08-D
ec
09-D
ec
27-M
ar
28-M
ar
29-M
ar
30-M
ar
31-M
ar
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Dec-16 Mar-17
No. of Uncollected Prescription in LKSSC pharmacy
15 Feb 2016 - 11 Mar 2016 5 – 9 Dec 2016
Reduction of Uncollected Prescriptions
• Same-day uncollected prescriptions reduced by 60% • Reduce manpower required to handle uncollected prescriptions • Facilitate better usage of storage space in SOPC Pharmacies
27 -31 Mar 2017
Implementation of Express Queue
Uncollected Prescriptions (Before)
Uncollected Prescriptions (After)
15
Highly appreciated by patients and public
Well received by frontline colleagues from both Pharmacy and SOPCs
Less congestion in waiting hall
Implementation progress for other Pharmacies
QEH
PWH
CMC
TMH CPH
KWH
PYN
POH AHNH
UCH TKO
QMH
1. Outcomes focus 2. Collaborative efforts 3. Team works 4. Dedicated frontline staff 5. Continuous improvement
CPO
IT
QEH
PWH
Success Factors
THANK YOU Special thank you to: Pharmacy Staff of PWH: Department Manage: Dr Benjamin Shing Cheung LEE Senior Pharmacist: Ms Jennifer WONG Pharmacist: Mr Siu Tin KO Pharmacy Staff of QEH: Department Manage: Mr Kenneth K M LAW Pharmacist: Ms Carol LAU Senior Dispenser: Mr W H LAM, Vicca P W AU Staff of Information Technology and Health Informatics Division: System Manager: Mr Patrick NG System Manager: Mr S F LAM System Analyst: Mr Jason LO Staff of Chief Pharmacist’s Office: Chief Pharmacist: Ms Anna LEE Senior Pharmacist: Ms Teresa NGAN Pharmacist: Mr Frank CHUNG Senior Dispenser: Mr Scott CHAN, Ms Paulinus CHAN