Report shows new technology categories emerging to solve price inflation and strained budgets.
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Apr. 8, 2024 — Bluesight, the leader in Medication Intelligence™ solutions, unveiled the findings of its 10th annual Hospital Pharmacy Operations Report (HPOR). The report surveyed 275 hospital pharmacy participants in the first quarter of 2024 to gauge opinions on pain points and top priorities for their hospitals in the coming year. This annual survey selectively surveyed a diverse panel of participants with over 60% of respondents having worked in the hospital space for over 10+ years.
In response to ongoing challenges such as staffing shortages, drug scarcities, and escalating drug prices, hospitals are embracing technological solutions at increasing rates. Budget constraints, while still prevalent, show signs of improvement, with a decrease in hindrances to software implementation. Streamlining pharmacy operations remains a priority, driven by the need to combat drug shortages and ensure compliance. Drug diversion, IV tracking, and perpetual inventory continue to occupy the three main priorities in 2024 with controlled substances continuing to take top precedence year over year. The key drivers for budget approval include the following ranked in order of importance: increasing patient safety, driving cost efficiencies, and fostering revenue generation.
While budget constraints are starting to lessen, new savings goals are creating a new category around pharmacy purchasing optimization and procurement. Pharmacists report that inflation, an increase in shortages, and recalls are generating a new system-wide focus on optimizing purchasing operations. 71% of respondents stated that streamlining their pharmacy purchasing and procurement processes is important to them. This is evident in the increased adoption rate of software solutions that support optimizing pharmacy purchasing processes which grew to 25% in 2024 compared to 8% the previous year.
Other stand-out statistics the survey include:
- 74% of respondents plan to standardize their formularies.
- There are early indicators that larger health systems are starting to leverage a hub and spoke model, utilizing a central pharmacy to fulfill the pharmacy needs of other hospitals within the system, with 33% of respondents saying their system uses this method.
- The deployment of robust drug diversion solutions has yielded tangible dividends, with 66% of respondents dedicating fewer hours to resolving variances.
- Outside of an increased allocation of budget to the tracking of controlled substances, hospitals are also increasing dedicated headcount. To better combat diversion holistically, 8 out of 10 respondents report that their organization has a working group or sub-committee focused on combating drug diversion system-wide.
“While the report revealed similar priorities year over year, I wasn’t surprised to see a strong focus on streamlining the purchasing process”, said Kevin MacDonald, Bluesight CEO, and co-founder. “This area continues to be a top issue for our customers. As hospital pharmacy staff continue to focus on improving operational efficiency, increasing patient safety, and driving new revenue, the demand for technological solutions rises. At Bluesight, our products focus on simple medication tracking from purchase to patient administration allowing hospitals to worry less about inventory, compliance, and costs – and focus on what matters most: patient care.”
Report Methodology
The 10th annual Hospital Pharmacy Operations Report (HPOR) presents a detailed examination of the prevailing trends influencing hospital operations and pharmacy management across the United States in 2024. The survey includes 275 respondents and offers valuable insights into the challenges, priorities, and technological advancements guiding decision-making within hospitals. Notably, over 60% of respondents boasted a decade or more of industry experience, as well as a diverse set of perspectives made up of pharmacy (66%), diversion surveillance (24%), and supply chain experts (10%).
The full report can be found here
About Bluesight
Bluesight solves supply chain inefficiencies and reduces risk by using AI and machine learning to surface actionable analytics for every step of the medication lifecycle. Through our suite of Medication Intelligence™ solutions, Bluesight brings simplicity, visibility, and predictability to the complex world of medication management. More than 1,600 U.S. and Canadian hospitals utilize Bluesight solutions to optimize their hospital pharmacy practices by improving efficiency, reducing medication costs, and increasing compliance and safety.
For more information, please visit Bluesight’s website.
For Media Inquiries
Ashley Conley, Brodeur Partners for Bluesight, aconley@brodeur.com