Workforce shortages are nothing new to the pharmacy industry. In 2016, The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a 12% increased demand for pharmacy technician jobs.
The shortage isn’t limited to the U.S. The Pharmaceutical Journal reports England faces low staffing within hospital, primary care, and community pharmacies, while Scotland and Wales face shortages in community pharmacy settings.
When you factor in the aging population, increased demand for prescription medications, and research advances, the need continues to trend upward. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent vaccination distribution caused staffing shortages as pharmacy technicians are being highly incentivized to leave other settings to help administer vaccines across the country.
The role of pharmacy technicians within the hospital setting
What roles are unique to the health system setting versus retail? According to the Pharmacy Times, these five responsibilities differentiate a hospital-based pharmacy technician role from retail or community pharmacy settings:
- Assisting with clinical drug trials and management and ensuring adherence to trial guidelines
- Interviewing patients to document medication history
- Preparing sterile and non-sterile compounds and/or managing onsite and offsite compounding facilities
- Preparing, delivering and working with medical staff to ensure medication delivery
- Working with drug wholesalers and pharmaceutical companies to procure medication and supplies
Hospital and health system pharmacies are facing two distinct challenges right now: either hiring enough staff to cover all of these responsibilities or finding time among existing staff to complete all of these tasks. While staffing shortages are nothing new, the demands are more daunting than ever before.
What if you could find a way to alleviate some of that responsibility by re-allocating staff resources while saving money? It’s as simple as allowing Safecor Health to take over your unit-dose repackaging needs to free up your staff for vaccination clinics and patient care.
Optimize hospital pharmacy staffing through unit-dose repackaging
For more than 40 years, Safecor Health has been the national leader committed to providing unit-dose repackaging services that allow pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to focus on patient care by outsourcing the challenging and time-consuming tasks of packaging. Today, Safecor Health provides unit-dose repackaging services to more than 1,000 hospitals across the country and repackages for more than 75% of the U. S. News & World Report “Honor Roll” hospitals.
Packaging Services
Safecor Health is committed to improving the supply chain and continually invests in new packaging technologies to automate processes and improve packaging efficiencies. By leveraging a Safecor Health relationship as part of the overall unit-dose strategy, our customers have been able to:
- Save on drug costs
- Reduce packaging errors
- Improve medication and patient safety
- Free up staff for more critical, high-value responsibilities
Contract Packaging
Our contract packaging helps manufacturers, GPOs and wholesalers bring products to market through our unique combination of packaging excellence and supply chain expertise. Our customers can increase their cost savings by limiting the investment needed for equipment, inventory and supply chain logistics. We offer small- and medium-sized runs for:
- Oral solid and liquid unit-dose packaging
- Unique requirements for pharmaceuticals
Commercial Unit-Dose Products
In addition to our repackaging services, Safecor Health offers an expanding portfolio of commercial unit-dose medications, available today on your regular wholesaler ordering account (no Safecor Health repackaging account needed). Our unit-dose products help customers reduce packaging requirements while providing the highest-quality product at cost-effective prices. It’s one more way Safecor Health provides hospital pharmacies with a 100% unit-dose solution to meet patient care and bedside scanning needs.
Learn more by downloading our free eBook, Realizing Drug Cost Savings Through a Strategic Repackaging Partnership.
We’ve broken down many of the hidden costs associated with in-house packaging and how a unit-dose repackaging partnership provides significant cost and labor savings. You’ll even find a real-life cost savings example realized by a hospital using a third-party repackaging strategy, and how you can uncover drug cost savings opportunities specific to your pharmacy.
