Effects of bar coding on a pharmacy stock replenishment system
Michael I. S. Chester, David A. Zilz · American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy · 1989
A bar-code stock ordering system installed in the ambulatory-care pharmacy and sterile products area of a hospital pharmacy was compared with a manual paper system to quantify overall time demands and determine the error rate associated with each system. The bar-code system was implemented in the ambulatory-care pharmacy in November 1987 and in the sterile products area in January 1988. It consists of a Trakker 9440 transaction manager with a digital scanner; labels are printed with a dot matrix printer. Electronic scanning of bar-code labels and entry of the amount required using the key-pad on the transaction manager replaced use of a preprinted form for ordering items. With the bar-code system, ordering information is transferred electronically via cable to the pharmacy inventory computer; with the manual system, this information was input by a stockroom technician. To compare the systems, the work of technicians in the ambulatory-care pharmacy and sterile products area was evaluated before and after implementation of the bar-code system. The time requirements for information gathering and data transfer were recorded by direct observation; the prevalence of errors under each system was determined by comparing unprocessed ordering information with the corresponding computer-generated "pick lists" (itemized lists including the amount of each product ordered). Time consumed in extra trips to the stockroom to replace out-of-stock items was self-reported. Significantly less time was required to order stock and transfer data to the pharmacy inventory computer with the bar-code system than with the manual system. In the ambulatory-care pharmacy, the barcode system also Was associated with significantly fewer errors. The mean number of extra trips to the stockroom because of stock outages also decreased in both the ambulatory-care pharmacy and the sterile products area. Overall estimated annual time savings with the barcode system are 104 technician hours, or a 30.4% decrease. A bar-code system reduced stock ordering times and decreased errors when used in the ambulatorycare pharmacy and sterile products area of a hospital pharmacy.