Medication Delivery Time Requirements in Centralized and Decentralized Unit Dose Drug Distribution Systems

A Review of the Research Literature on Evidence-Based Healthcare Design

“…Centralized location of supplies could double staff walking and substantially reduce care time irrespective of whether nurses stations were decentralized (Hendrich, 2003). Other studies that compared delivery times in centralized and decentralized pharmacy systems found that medication delivery times were reduced by more than 50% when using decentralized distribution systems (Hibbard, Bosso, Sward, & Baum, 1981; Lomonte, Besser, & Thomas, 1983; Reynolds, Johnson, & Longe, 1978).…”

Implementation of a Web-based medication tracking system in a large academic medical center

“…4,5 This decrease has been attributed to the distance from the dispensing location to the delivery location. The implementation of a decentralized technician model, wherein the products are sent via pneumatic tube, could enhance the delivery process and reduce the transit time of products.…”

“…Although decentralized distribution is not without its drawbacks, articles dating back to the 1970s and 1980s have reported that it provides significantly shorter turnaround times than centralized distribution by eliminating the delivery step from the process. 3,4 Primarily for this reason, there is wide acceptance of ADMs, with over 80% of hospitals in the United States using the technology. 5 Am J Health-Syst Pharm-Vol 69 Oct 1, 2012 While the widespread use of ADMs has allowed for an improvement in turnaround times for the majority of medications dispensed, there will always be a subset of medications that must be distributed from a central or satellite location.…”

Evaluation of the safety of 500 mg intravenous push thiamine at a tertiary academic medical center

“…However, it may take up to 220 min for medications to be available for administration when also considering the time for order verification, obtaining materials for sterile compounding, verifying the product, and delivery time. 13 – 15 IV push administration optimizes workflow and allows for immediate availability in an automated dispensing cabinet on the unit for administration after order verification. Although thiamine (200 mg/2 mL injection vial) is a relatively inexpensive drug with a $5.41 wholesale acquisition cost (WAC), transitioning its administration from a sterile compounded mixture to an IV push provides operational benefits.…”