Apart from drug distribution management, there are also other managements that a pharmacist should perform in a Satellite Pharmacy. It is mainly divided into:
In satellite pharmacy, the staffs available including of pharmacists, nurses, quality assurance staff and technicians. In staff management of satellite pharmacy, the concept of balance the workload and staffing in satellite pharmacies are done by using a patient acuity index. It means that, increase the workload, the number of staff required in satellite pharmacy will also be increased. The assignment of beds to satellite pharmacies is based primarily on proximity. Assignment will usually be by nursing unit to encourage more effective communication among the patient, doctor, nurse, and pharmacist. Usually, an equal number of beds is assigned to each satellite. Recognizing that some nursing units (e.g., Intensive Care Units) place greater demands on pharmacy resources than others makes it obvious that there is a need for a system to measure the consumption of pharmacy resources by patient acuity.
Meanwhile, staff management of satellite pharmacy in surgical ward is usually officially staffed Monday through Friday from 6 am to 4:30 pm to conform to the volume and workflow schedule of the surgery, the satellite pharmacist’s work day begins an hour and a half before surgeries begin at 7:30 am and ends approximately an hour after surgeries are complete. Thus, pharmacy arrives at 6 am to set up, prepare the first round of antibiotics for the preoperative holding room, and dispense the narcotics each anaesthesiologist will require that day. The number of surgeries is generally heaviest in the morning hours, so at 2 or 3 pm our staffing levels decline to correspond to the volume of surgeries. One staff pharmacist is available during the early hours, while a technician is added during the peak afternoon hours for support. While the pharmacy closes officially at 4:30 pm, staff usually remains for the aforementioned hour or so to prepare the pharmacy for the next day. During off hours, the medication needed during surgery is stocked with frequently used items that can be obtained by nursing for emergency cases. The main pharmacy is opened 24/7 for all other needs, including IV admixtures, irrigation solutions, etc.
