Application of 4M1E Refined Management Method in Reducing Dispensing Time of Long-term Prescription in Outpatient Pharmacy / 医药导报

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effectiveness of 4M1E refined management method in reducing dispensing time of outpatient prescription in outpatient pharmacies under the implementation of a long-term prescription policy.Methods The hospital started to implement 4M1E refinement management in July 2022.Ten thousand prescriptions were randomly selected for each of the pre-implementation(from January to June 2022)and post-implementation(from July to December 2022)human-machine hybrid dispensing windows.The dispensing time of a single prescription,the volume of prescriptions dispensed and the number of drugs prescribed during peak periods,the use of intelligent equipment,and patient satisfaction before and after imple-mentation were compared.Results After implementation,the single prescription drug dispensing time at the mixed human-ma-chine dispensing window was reduced from(96.88±1 401.17)s to(55.84±526.24)s(P<0.01);The number of prescriptions dispensed in the window increased from(135.20±21.06)to(147.19±21.24)prescriptions per 2 h,and the number of drugs pre-scribed increased from(871.74±215.61)to(1 008.53±267.87)prescriptions per 2 h during peak hours.The rate of straight prescription and the rate of equipment automation have been greatly improved.Outpatient satisfaction was higher than before man-agement.The data showed statistical differences(P<0.05).Conclusion Under long-term prescription pressure,hospital outpa-tient pharmacies can greatly reduce prescription dispensing time and improve patient satisfaction after applying the 4M1E fine management method.