APPROPRIATE STAFFING LEVELS

To advocate that pharmacists at each practice site base the site’s pharmacist and technician staffing levels on patient safety considerations, taking into account factors such as (1) acuity of care, (2) breadth of services, (3) historical safety data, and (4) results of research on the relationship between staffing patterns and patient safety; further,

To advocate that regulatory bodies not mandate specific, uniform pharmacy personnel ratios but rather ensure that site-specific staffing levels optimize patient safety; further,

To encourage additional research on the relationship between pharmacy staffing patterns and patient safety.

Rationale

The purpose of any staffing level should be to ensure quality patient care as well as patient and provider safety. Factors to be considered in developing an appropriate staffing level include acuity of care, breadth of services, historical safety data, and results of research on the relationship between staffing patterns and patient safety. Given the complexity of determining appropriate staffing, regulatory bodies should not mandate a specific staffing ratio in general or for specific practice settings. Rather, pharmacy leaders should exercise their professional judgment to determine the appropriate staffing level for achieving quality patient care. Such a model allows flexibility to base staffing levels on factors specific to each site. ASHP acknowledges the need for additional research on staffing models to support staffing levels that provide safe and effective patient care to aid pharmacy leaders in making such determinations.

ASHP recognizes the legitimate need for boards of pharmacy to assure minimum standards of practice to protect the public health. The ASHP Guidelines: Minimum Standard for Pharmacies in Hospitals states, “The pharmacy shall employ an adequate number of competent, legally qualified pharmacists to meet the specific medication-use needs of the hospital’s patients” and “sufficient support personnel (e.g., pharmacy technicians and clerical or secretarial personnel) shall be employed to facilitate pharmacy services.” Pharmacy leaders are the healthcare professionals best suited to making those determinations.