Just the Facts

IMPACT OF THE U.S. PHARMACIST SHORTAGE

FACT SHEET


A study of compounding IV admixtures, conducted across five hospitals, found 9 out of every 100 IV doses mixed in the hospital pharmacy contained at least one error, posing a substantial risk to patients.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists estimates a moderate to severe shortage of staff at 90 percent of its hospital pharmacies.

There is a strong correlation between pharmacist shortages and patient safety. Shortages in pharmacy staff may increase error hazards because of understaffed work shifts and individual workers' work durations and volumes.

Reasons for errors include pharmacy workplace noise levels, number of interruptions, the differences in the amount of staffing available, and the extreme workload placed on individual staff members.

Pharmacists have a major role in identifying improvements in the drug use and distribution process and other steps that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of medication errors. Carrying out this responsibility is particularly challenging during a time of pharmacist shortage.

Key factors contributing to the shortage of pharmacists include: increased use of prescription medicines, the expansion of pharmacy practice and pharmacists' roles, and the changing pharmacists workforce.

The decline in pharmacy graduates has been accompanied by a corresponding decline in numbers of applications to pharmacy schools.

Facts provided by: BBRUANUSA