Time Savings Associated With Dispensing Unit-of-Use Packages

Unit-of-Use Versus Traditional Bulk Packaging

“…Of the 50 types of prescriptions used in the Lipowski et al study, they reported the unit-of-use packages cost $6.31 more. 2 The unit-of-use method tends to consist of more expensive packaging due to the need for an increased amount of packaging and labeling materials (see Table 2). …”

“…2 Not receiving the correct quantity of medication, may cause patients to distrust the pharmacy and result in less than ideal patient care. Dispensing excess medication to a patient increases costs to a pharmacy and could eventually lead to adverse events for a patient.…”

“…A unit-of-use package is prescription medication that contains a quantity "designed and intended to be dispensed directly to a patient for a specific use without modification except for the addition of a prescription label by a dispensing pharmacist." 2,3 Examples of unit-of-use packages are blister packs, compliance packs, course-of-therapy packs and vials containing a 30-day supply or a quantity of medication appropriate for specific disease state. In contrast and not to be confused with unit-of-use packaging, there is unit dose packaging.…”

“…Examples of these are, returning stock bottles to storage shelves, retrieving dispensing vials, and measuring dosage units. 2 A unit-of-use time savings study carried out by Lipowski et al in a community pharmacy analyzed the time saved between dispensing unit-of-use versus bulk packaging. The authors conducted a simulation study where they compared two teams in regards to their accuracy and time spent to prepare medications according to the assigned packaging method.…”

“…Between these two teams, the average time saved by using unit-of-use packages, for 50 prescriptions, was 23.25 minutes or approximately 28 seconds per prescription. 2 This study also looked at the amount of time pharmacists were involved in actual prescription assembly versus cognitive activities that could be accomplished during the simulation such as reviewing prescription orders, finding drug interactions, counseling patients, and calling health care providers. Pharmacists were involved in prescription assembly for 26% of the bulk packaged orders versus only 4% of the unit-of-use packaged orders (see Table 1).…”