Description Health-system pharmacy leaders are tasked with determining key staffing decisions based on evolving patient care needs and present-day staffing capacity. A systematic approach to evaluate patient care needs, current model and potential gaps enables leaders to allocate resources in patient care need expansions or sudden fluctuations of patient volumes. Resource management, preparedness and ongoing maintenance form principles used by pharmacy leaders to create an optimal operational environment and elevate clinical pharmacy services. Use of this approach for multiple sites of care across a large network of health systems resulted in identification and improvement in pharmacist coverage and retention of clinical pharmacy services in a critical time of economic uncertainty. Hospitals working toward expanding to 24/7 pharmacist coverage may also consider this systematic approach to elucidate their needs.
Keywords: administration; efficiency; health-system management; leadership; linical pharmacy service; personnel staffing; pharmacists; work schedule.
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