Report shows drug shortages, budget restraints, and staff shortages as top priorities in 2023
ALEXANDRIA (March, 28) –Bluesight, The Medication Intelligence Company provides actionable information at the unit dose level that hospitals need to prevent drug diversion, optimize pharmacy workflows and drug spend, and increase safety and compliance, today released the findings of its ninth annual Hospital Pharmacy Operations Report (HPOR), which surveyed 112 hospital pharmacy professionals in the first quarter of 2023. This annual survey selectively surveyed a diverse panel of participants, of which 73% have worked in the hospital space for over 10+ years.
The report found that drug diversion is a top technology initiative hospitals are looking to invest in, with half of the respondents listing it as their number one focus followed by IV prep tracking software (37.5%) and smart pumps (31%). Budget constraints are the main hurdle to achieving the implementation of hospitals’ top three technology initiatives in 2023, with 83% of respondents pointing to budget as the main deciding factor. This data suggests that hospitals will be limiting the implementation of new software in 2023.
The data also showed a 20% year- over- year increase in the number of respondents who know a colleague who has diverted opioids (30%). However, there are signs that this may be due to better reporting habits and catching more potential diverters than an actual increase in the rate of diversion. The 2022 Diversion Trends Report found that the average hospital is conducting twice as many investigations, showing that organizations are noticing more anomalies and variances in behavior. Last year, HPOR found that controlled substance tracking software was the number one technology initiative, so these results may be coming from hospitals implementing this software over the last year.
Of the respondents who answered that they were aware of a colleague who diverted opioids:
- 91% believe it would be at least somewhat difficult to divert opioids from their facility
- 80% either have or are actively implementing drug diversion software
- 72% have a controlled substance workgroup/diversion committee at their facility
- 50% have a multidisciplinary task force at their facility
For the fifth consecutive year, over half of pharmacists rank drug shortages as the number one challenge facing pharmacies. Hospital pharmacies continue to experience year-over year drug shortage increases. For context, the percentage of hospital pharmacies experiencing 10 or more drug shortages is now 87% among respondents. When it comes to implementing new technologies, budget constraints can often be a huge hurdle in adopting new solutions. Of the participants who responded “no” to implementing new technology in the next 12 months, over 40% responded that it is due to budget constraints.
“When looking forward, it’s obvious issues that intensified during the pandemic such as drug and staffing shortages will continue to echo in the coming years,” said Kevin MacDonald, Bluesight CEO and co-founder. “As technology continues to advance, hospitals will continue to demand solutions. It’s inevitable that new innovations will be focused on the healthcare space.”
The full report can be found here.
About Bluesight
Bluesight solves supply chain inefficiencies and reduces risk by providing 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. To date, more than 1,000 U.S. and Canadian hospitals utilize Bluesight solutions to optimize their hospital’s efficiency. Bluesight focuses on providing comprehensive, item-level data that empowers providers to make informed, accurate decisions. These solutions include RFID-enabled inventory management, controlled substance diversion prevention software and medication purchasing optimization. To learn more about Bluesight’s suite of Medication Intelligence solutions, visit us at bluesight.com.