
New processes developed at Laniado’s pharmacy
Complex work processes that involve transferring prescriptions between departments and transporting drugs in a large medical center require close supervision. Pharmacy management necessitates strict control procedures and the Director of Laniado Hospital’s pharmacy Mr Said Amarna has developed an innovative self-monitoring tool for this purpose.
The goal is to identify the various factors that affect the functioning of the pharmacy and examine different indicators relating to pharmacists’ ongoing work.
Dr Amarna who is an Israeli Arab said, "Monitoring is essential because it is only natural that with such a large volume of work, problems will arise regarding the division of work, work procedures and human error. Before we developed our self-management tools, we knew how to identify problems connected with the work load. This consisted of a misunderstanding of work procedures or on the rare occasions a failure to follow operating procedures meticulously.
Dr Amarna examined three main areas of activity in the pharmacy:
1. Cytotoxity (pertaining to the toxicity of certain drugs used to combat cancer cells).
2. Narcotics.
3. Preparation of gilenya (a prescription medicine used to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis).
He found that there was a decisive influence by factors not directly related to the work environment that effected the quality of work.
An article written by Mr. Amarna proposing the widespread use of the innovative self- monitoring will be published this month by the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists and is the first step towards the official adoption of this procedure by the Association.