The Role of Prescription in Pharmacy

Pharmacy refers to a point where patients and people visit to get medicine through processing and paying before the medicine is dispensed to them (Holloway & Galvin, 2016). A prescription refers to a doctor’s recommendation to a patient to take particular medicine based on the sickness being diagnosed. Whenever a doctor prescribes medication, there is a process which forms a vital component in determining how best the process can be flawless and reduce waiting time if the process if followed to the latter.

Steps

Step 1: Patient visits the doctor based on the ailing health,

Step 2: Diagnosis by the doctor based on the ailment

Step 3: Doctor prescribes medication based on diagnosis. Here, there are two levels, handwritten being issued to patient and softcopy of prescription to the pharmacist, as a back-up to avoid instances of misinterpretation of the handwritten prescribed medication.

Step 4: Transcription of medication

Step 5: Checking on the insurance plan. If it is eligible, then the pharmacist goes to the next step of dispensing the medicine, If not then the patient needs to pay for the medication.

Step 6: Dispensing of the medicine after checking all records are as per the standardized requirements.

Supplier, input, process steps, output, and customer (SIPOC) model

The use of SIPOC model is essential in helping identify the process where variation may occur in the process of service delivery. For the case study, Ben and Juan are presented with a model which corresponds to the need to have a better view and understanding of the hospital’s process, based on where deviation is likely to occur at.

Supplier of medicine, whether they are original or generic, the input of clients information to the hospital’s system, the prescription as well as the mode of payment which needs to conform to acceptable hospitals payment model. Next is the process step of receiving medication, checking on insurance, output entails survey as well as invoicing system and lastly is on the customer or patient who has to give feedback about service delivery at the facility.

Question 2

Accuracy in prescription is important to any institution, which it can use to monitor the progress of the patients even after leaving the facility (Holloway & Galvin, 2016). The hospital needs to have a stable and reliable records management system in place which ensures that the patient’s data is well captured and stored for future health analysis and prescriptions. The data to be captured needs to incorporate essential patient’s data such as the patient’s health history, height, weight, patient’s allergies, if any, family’s health history.

A survey booth at the hospital to give feedback while being attended to by the different levels of the visit is important in improving service delivery. Some of the random questions which the patient can easily fill and are important feedback points include the efficiency of service delivery, quality of customer service, quality of prescription and areas that need improvement, based on the likes and dislikes (Hoerl & Snee, 2012).

Based on the guided question is possible to segregate the feedback to get information about diagnosis and prescription in order to improve the prescription process. Issues such as dosage administered to a patient, incorrect medicine prescribed all form integral starting points of making necessary adjustments within the system to reasonable levels.

Question 3

Solution to HMO problem

The existing gap in prescription, as well as the issuance of medication, can be bridged through creating of system checks and balances using online data storage and filing, with storage of client’s information. Data collected needs to be updated within the system with a records office which helps in updating client information to the hospital’s database. Integrating this information with a gap assessment and response mechanism helps in improving on service delivery, something that can be linked to use of Total Quality Management (TQM), an approach which necessitates the use of feedback to link doctor’s diagnosis and prescription, pharmacists checks based on the prescription from the doctor (Hoerl & Snee, 2012).

Strategy of overcoming HMO problem

The strategy that the hospital needs to incorporate is that of verifying information within its systems such that gaps that have been realized before are minimized and readjusted to the minimum level possible. Achieving this strategy can be through having verifiable and verification process and officers in place to ensure that client information matches the prescription and dispensation given (Hoerl & Snee, 2012).

In a nutshell, the case study provided above can be of importance to realize the gaps and struggles that patients undergo through. Ben and Juan have an elaborate approach in statistical thinking in health care described above in coming up with measures to reduce past challenges concerning inaccurate prescription. The use of SIPOC is thus an integral in identifying process gaps, the most important aspect in ensuring that service delivery is at par with the hospital's core values. Instances of incorrect diagnosis have led to many patients having deteriorated health, increased the cost of medication as well as possible lawsuits to hospitals, which are unnecessary.

References

Benneyan, J. C., Lloyd, R. C., & Plsek, P. E. (2003). Statistical process control as a tool for research and healthcare improvement. BMJ Quality & Safety, 12(6), 458-464.

Holloway, I., & Galvin, K. (2016). Qualitative research in nursing and healthcare. John Wiley & Sons.

Hoerl, R., & Snee, R. (2012). Statistical Thinking Improving Business Performance. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.