Solving Problems of Interruptions and Multitasking in the Pharmacy of a Large Hospital Centre

Abstract

This paper presents an approach to solving problems of interruptions and multitasking in inpatient pharmacy processes of a large hospital centre, which is based on statistical modelling and simulations. The approach is applied to the process of receiving deliveries (from suppliers) to determine the feasibility of improvements in the organization of work. In the initial phase of research, data on the deliveries from suppliers were collected during the time study and a typical daily load on the pharmacy staff and infrastructure in the current state was simulated. Subsequently, a new organizational model, which included two defined blocks of time for delivery, was suggested and three simulation scenarios were created to examine the effects of new organization of work on daily activities. Finally, a comparison of system constraints and results obtained by the simulation models confirmed the feasibility of the proposed improvements. By implementing the new organization of work, it will be possible to avoid overlapping in pharmacy processes, which will reduce interruptions to work and the need for multitasking and will finally result in fewer errors in work.