A new study has found that phone calls, face-to-face consumer inquiries and out-of-scope questions from staff are the main sources of distraction during the dispensing process in pharmacy settings.
Medicine dispensing, sourced from Getty images
A new study has found that phone calls, face-to-face consumer inquiries and out-of-scope questions from staff are the main sources of distraction during the dispensing process in pharmacy settings.
The study, led by Monash University's Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (FPPS), set out to review existing knowledge on the impact of interruptions and distractions in pharmacy practice and whether this is linked to dispensing errors.
A comprehensive search of relevant databases led to 51 studies being included in the review, revealing that pharmacists experience interruptions and distractions at varying rates, but can be as high as 20 times per hour.
These disruptions primarily impacted the dispensing process, pharmacists' workload, performance, well-being, and patient wait times.
In addition to identifying the main forms and rates of distraction, the study also found there to be a lack of intervention initiatives to address the issue. Of the interventions identified, there are three main categories: adjusting the physical environment; altering workflow processes and limiting direct access to pharmacists during dispensing.
The study's corresponding author and FPPS Undergraduate Pharmacy Course Director Associate Professor Dan Malone said although the inclusion of intervention tactics in some studies is encouraging, there remains a strong need for education programs to better prepare pharmacy students for the types of interruptions they will experience when they enter the workforce.
"Dispensing medicines is an integral service provided by pharmacists and is a professional competency that combines specialised knowledge, functional and behavioural skills, and clinical judgment," Associate Professor Malone said.
"As the custodians of medicine safety, educating future pharmacists on how to manage interruptions and distractions during the dispensing process can play a critical role in mitigating risk of errors."
Lead author and pharmacist Meaza Ayanaw is undertaking her PhD with FPPS, which is focused on using a dispensing simulation to generate data on the impact of interruptions and distractions on task prioritisation and clinical decision-making ability of pharmacy students.
"Our hope is that one of the main outcomes from our combined research initiatives in this space will be to better understand how key elements of pharmacy practice are influenced by interruptions and distractions and, as such, what we can do to help prepare students for the real world," Mrs Ayanaw said.
The authors believe that future research in this space should focus on implementing and evaluating workplace interventions, while promoting foundational habits at the university level to train pharmacy students in managing task prioritisation and task switching.
Additionally, the authors conclude that as most of the studies reviewed did not provide a coherent picture of specific types of distractions and interruptions, their impact, frequency, or the strategies or interventions proposed or implemented, future studies should examine each type of interruption and distraction more comprehensively.
