The Implementation and Effect of Weekend Pharmacy-Driven Antimicrobial Stewardship Services at a Large Academic Medical Center.

BACKGROUND: In September 2018, pharmacy antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) services were expanded to include weekends at this academic medical center. Activities performed by AMS pharmacists on the weekends include blood culture rapid diagnostic (RDT) review, antiretroviral therapy (ART) review, prospective audit and feedback (PAF) utilizing clinical decision support, vancomycin dosing, and operational support. The purpose of this study was to assess the operational and clinical impact of these expanded AMS services. METHODS: This single-center, quasi-experimental study included data from weekends before (9/2017-11/2017) and after (9/2018-11/2018) implementation. The descriptive primary outcome was the number of activities completed for each AMS activity type in the post-implementation group only. Secondary outcomes were time to AMS opportunity resolution, time to escalation or de-escalation following PAF or RDT alert, time to resolution of miscellaneous AMS related opportunities, length of stay (LOS), and antimicrobial use outcomes. RESULTS: During the post-implementation period 1258 activities were completed, averaging 97/weekend. Inclusion criteria for time to resolution outcomes were met by 72 patients pre-implementation and 59 patients post. The median (IQR) time to AMS opportunity resolution decreased from 18.5 hours pre-intervention (7.7-35.7) to 8.5 hours post-intervention (IQR 1.8-14.0), p < 0.01. Time to escalation was 11.6 hours compared to 1.7 hours (p = 0.1), de-escalation 16.7 hours compared to 10.8 hours (p = 0.03), and miscellaneous opportunity 40.8 hours compared to 13.2 hours (p = 0.01). No differences were observed in LOS or antimicrobial use outcomes. CONCLUSION: Presence of pharmacist-driven weekend AMS services significantly reduced time to resolution of AMS opportunities. These data support the value of weekend AMS services.

Development of an operational productivity tool within a cancer treatment center pharmacy.

PURPOSE: The development and implementation of an operational productivity tool in an academic cancer treatment center are described. SUMMARY: Based on the increasing complexity of care delivery within the oncology setting, solutions were explored within Cleveland Clinic pharmacy's productivity model. Data were electronically captured based on orders processed through the outpatient oncology setting, including hazardous and nonhazardous medications. Based on current workflow, inpatient and outpatient orders were reviewed in productivity metrics. The metric defining the variability of the workload itself was weighted dispense type as it was the best representation of a mixed-skill workflow. After conducting workflow process mapping, discrete measurable steps were assessed and evaluated daily. Operational components of interest included pharmacist verification activities and technician compounding activities. Historical production data were sampled for assigning relative value units (RVUs) respective to time to normalize workload into a common unit (i.e., 1 hour) and to relate work demand in a highly variable setting. RVUs were assigned and delineated by cognitive and distributive activities for pharmacists and technicians, respectively. The Cleveland Clinic department of pharmacy developed a productivity tool to retrospectively measure workload involving time to review, verify, reconstitute, admix, and deliver chemotherapeutic agents. The weighting of each medication allowed for precise and meaningful evaluation of productivity. With RVUs assigned to 2 years of operational metrics, there now exists an opportunity to monitor performance trends within the cancer treatment center pharmacy. The data are readily retrievable within the electronic health record. CONCLUSION: The productivity data provided precise information to assess trends in operations within the pharmacy of an outpatient cancer treatment center.