RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Mail-order services for refilling prescriptions for medications have been established in many countries and have increased patient satisfaction. We developed a mail-order service for the outpatient pharmacy of a comprehensive cancer center in Jordan. OBJECTIVE: To describe the implementation of a mail-order service and to report the impact of the service on patient satisfaction and the pharmacy workload. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team was formed to plan a mail-order service for refilling prescriptions for medications, and a survey was designed to evaluate patient satisfaction with the service. Patients were instructed to call the refill call center and order their medications at least 48 hours before their refill is due. The pharmacy workflow for refilling prescriptions was evaluated, and the time required with and without the mail-order service was documented, with a calculation of the time saved. RESULTS: At 1 year after the mail-order service had been established, 14 200 prescriptions had been refilled through the service, with the majority (97.5%) dispensed within 48 hours of the order time. As per the survey conducted with 219 patients, on the overall satisfaction, 69.4% reported being highly satisfied with the service and 27.9% reported being satisfied. The problems reported with the service were delay in arrival (n = 23, 10.5%), medication-related errors (n = 9, 4.1%), cash-related error (n = 1, 0.45%), improper storage condition (n = 1, 0.45%), and delivery to the wrong address (n = 4, 1.8%). The service was also associated with reduced overall time for processing in the outpatient pharmacy service; for patients receiving their medications from the pharmacy, resulting in reduced patients' overall waiting time (from 11.4 to 8.2 minutes). The service resulted in saving of 0.4 full-time employee at 1 year of implementation. CONCLUSIONS: A mail-order service for refilling prescriptions within a hospital setting had positive outcomes on both patient satisfaction and the pharmacy workflow. The major issues were related to transportation and logistics.
RESUMO
Objective. To develop a hospital-based pharmacy internship program in a comprehensive cancer care center in Jordan and review its outcomes over a 10-year period.Methods. King Hussein Cancer Center developed a two-year internship program for pharmacy students in Jordanian universities. The program included training in operational and clinical settings during the academic year and school holidays. In addition, the students completed rotation-related assignments and met weekly with the program director. During the rotations and at the end of the program, interns were asked to assess their level of satisfaction with the program and to comment on its content and structure. Results. From a pilot phase with only three interns and a simple training structure, the two-year internship program has become more structured now training six interns annually. During the first 10 years of the program, 51 students from four universities in Jordan enrolled in the program, with six current interns, 34 graduates, and 11 withdrawals. Graduates reported improved academic performance and satisfaction with the program's structure and the skills obtained. Their main challenge was time management during the academic year. Conclusion. A hospital-based pharmacy internship program is feasible and sustainable. Participation in the program improves interns' academic performance and clinical and professional skills, despite the challenges of highly demanding conditions on both the hospital and the students.