Designing a Hospital Pharmacy

274

J OURNAL OF THE AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION

t o see that this faculty member does not have to do all t his work for his college at his own personal expense. It will not be long before the hospital administrator will consider an applicant as pharmacist for his hospital only if the applicant has served a hospital pharmacy internship. At present h~ requires that his pharmacist should have hospital

pharmacy training, or experience. Many of the colleges of pharmacy have not kept abreast of this specialty as they should have, therefore the places where hospital pharmacists may be adequately trained are few. The demand for hospital pharmacists cannot be filled. It is high time that pharmacy faculties give the subject of hospital pharmacy some serious thought.

DESIGNING A HOSPITAL PHARMACY FOR 250 BED INSTI TUTION WI TH OUTPATIENT CLI NIC by HANS S. HANSEN CHIEF PHARMACIST, GRANT HOSPITA L OF CHICAGO

N spite of the fact that hospital architects tell us that "reduction of traffic is paramount" in planning a hospital they (the architects) still locate pharmacies in the basements of new hospitals.

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Pharmacy departments in hospitals are too often considered adjunct departments, considered and treated as a stepchild (remember Cinderella!) . With the exception of the nursing, no other department has more direct contacts with =

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275

PRACTICAL PHARMACY EDITION

the patient than the pharmacy department. This being true it must of necessity be an important department and considered so. The extent of service that a hospital pharmacy can render is only limited by the knowledge and appreciation of the hospital administrator. Believing all this, I would locate the pharmacy department as centrally as physically possible. The central service department as well as the laboratory and X -ray departments should adjoin the pharmacy. A good many procedures carried on by the central service should be under the direct supervision of the pharmacist. Solutions and stains for laboratory use as well as X -ray solutions should he prepared by th~ pharmacy department. These factors plus the reduction in traffic explain my plans (see drawing) for the proximity of these four departments. In my plans for thi s 250 bed hospital pharmacy, I have made no provision for the manufacture of sterile intravenous solutions. I have yet to be convinced that it is an economical procedure for this size institution. If it should be desired to manufacture sterile solutions, it would require

three .additional rooms- a wash and cleaning room, a manufacturing room and a sterilizing room. It should be an air-conditioned, dust-free unit. The pharmacy unit should consist of an office and pharmaceutical library, occupying a room approximately 18 by 18 feet. Adjoining this should be located the manufacturing unit of about 18 feet by 30 feet. Across the hallway I would locate th e dispensing unit, a room approximately 18 feet by 20 feet. Adjoining this unit I would locate the store room with facilities for the filling of floor baskets. This should be about 18 feet by 28 feet. On the other side of the dispensing unit with a connecting door, I would locate the main room of the central service department. If possible, it would be well to install dummy elevator service to all floors in order to further reduce traffic. This elevator service should also reach the outpatient clinic for prescription service. Ether and other explosives should be stored according to existing fire regulations. R eprinted from H ospital Ma n agement with permission.

HOSPITAL PHARMACY RANKS DECREASE 6% The number of pharmacist s employed in the nation's hospitals decreased from 4183 to 3921 during the year ending September 30, 1945, representing a loss of about G% . There were l:m fewer full -time hospital pharmacists and 123 fewer part-time pharmacist s. This is the first time since the beginning of the war that Selective Service inductions have resulted in an overall decrease in the number of practicing hospital pharmacists. While the number of hospital pharmacists . decreased in 1945, an actual increased need was indicated by the fact that the number of hospital beds increased from 1,729,945 to 1,738,944, the number of admissions from 16,03G,848 to IG,257,402, and the number of patient days from 475,G07,484 to 512,915,155. Data on hospital pharmacist s were compiled by the Council on Medical Education and Hospitals of the American Medical Association as part of its annual survey of hospital personnel and service. Replies to a census questionnaire were received from nearly 98% of the registered hospitals. Over 99% of the hospitals approved for internships and residencies in specialties furnished reports to the Council.

The tabulation is given below by states. PHARMACISTS

PHARMACI STS

ST AT E S

Al a bama Arizo n a Arka nsas C a liforllia Colorado C onnecticut D elawa r e District of Columbia Florida Georg ia Id a ho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansa s K e ntucky Loui sian a M a ine Maryl a nd M assachu se tts Michi ga n -M inne :-ot a Mississ ippi Mi ssouri Montana Nebraska Nevada

Full

Part

Ti>n e

T i me

:!()

2() 372 45 47 5

32 106 73 13 231 5\) 41 50

40 8 5 5

6

fi1

21 11 7 6 2 2 2 8

]46 123 .50

12 20 12

3n nn 1()

2~)

1

!H) 12 35 4

10 2 10 2

STATIc S

New H a mp-s hire N e w J er se y N e w M e xico New Y ork No . Carolina No. D a kota Ohio Oklahoma Ore gon Penna. Rhod e I sland So . Carolina So. D a kota Tennessee Tex as Utah Vermont Virg inia Was hin gton W. Virg ini a Wisco ns in Wyomin g T O TALS

1945 ] \)44 1943 Hl42 1\)41 1\)36

Full Time

Part Time

7 ]01 24 43 5 62 6 122 46 3\) 201 23 36 13 53 184 17 5 68 79 16

4 10 2

66

I\)

1!)

45 6 26 6 4 62 6 4 3 !)

14 7 .

6

3461 3600 3563 2698 2382

460 583 605 533 497 1901