Pressures in the Central Pharmacies Post Pandemic

COVID-19 has had a lasting impact on central pharmacies throughout the country. With pharmacists in short supply and tensions rising, there is a high demand for more automated processes in pharmacies in order to lessen the amount of stressful daily tasks for pharmacy staff.

Due to the pandemic, prescription demand in March 2020 jumped by nearly 15%. Higher prescription volume is associated with greater risk of staff burnout due to the process of counting, sorting, and distributing the pills. By May of 2021, 80% of pharmacies reported struggles to fill open positions. 90% of these positions were pharmacy technicians, 60% were front-end employees, and 13% were staff pharmacists. These positions are very important in making sure that patients are receiving their prescriptions, so a solution is needed quickly to solve the amount of burnout felt in central pharmacies. 

Automated technological processes can help to alleviate some of the stress on pharmaceutical staff during this time when prescription medicine needs are increasing. Technological processes can sort, distribute, and keep a detailed inventory of pills to ensure that patients are receiving the correct medicine they need while also leaving pharmaceutical staff to take care of other tasks they need to be doing. 

Implementing technological processes can allow for staff to heal from the effect of burnout that they are feeling post-pandemic. Ensuring our pharmaceutical staff are happy and healthy is important to ensure that their patients are receiving the care they deserve.