Metrics Implementation in an Industry-Based Medical Information Department and Comparison to Metrics Tracked within Othe
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Metrics Implementation in an Industry-Based Medical Information Department and Comparison to Metrics Tracked Within Other Industry-Based Medical Information Departments
Stocey C. Soores, PharmD Medical Information Manager, Amgen. Inc., Thousand Oaks. California
Christi Marsh, PkarmD Medical Information Manager and Drug Information Residency Director, Solvay Pharmaceuticals. lnc.. Marietta, Georgia
'Ihere was no formal metn'cs system in place for the medical information (MI) department at Sdvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Therefore, the MI department of Sdvay sought to devefop a formal metrics system for accuratelycapturing and reporting workload statistics. A preimplementation survey was administered to assess the impression of MI corefunction workload including medical response letters, medical inquiries, and promotional review. Monthly workload statistics were captured for each MI team member, and averages at 3 and 6 months were compared to preimple-
Key Words Metrics; MedicaVdrug information; Statistics; Workload; Industry
Correspondence Address Christi Marsh, PharmD, Solvay Pharmaceuticals. Inc.. 901 Sawyer Rd.. Marietta, GA 30062 (email: Christ i.marsh @solvay.com).
INTRODUCTION The term metrics is used to describe statistics that quantitatively measure various management aspects such as quality, quantity, or productivity (1).The use of metrics is documented in several business and clinical settings to monitor performance outcomes (2,3).Clinical pharmacy practice has adopted the use of various metric type documentation programs (ie. Clinitrends, PharmaTrend, etc) to measure pharmacists' impact on patient care, evaluate the cost impact of specialized services, and document services for reimbursement purposes as well as serve as a quality control or assurance measure. Metrics programs have also been used in clinical pharmacy practice to validate the need for specialized clinicians in numerous nontraditional settings such as nutrition support, anticoagulation management, hypertension clinics, and drug information (4-15). Currently the Advisory Group on Workload and Productivity Monitoring of the American Association of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) Section of Pharmacy Practice Managers is developing a
mentation survey averages. Another survey gathered information regarding workload tracking practices in other industry-based MI departments. The majority (6045%)of metn'cs captured were inconsistent with presurvey perceived averages. The formal metrics system implemented at Sdvay more accurately depicts workload and the accomplishmentsof MI employees, enables better prediction of stafing requirements, and is consistent with workload monitoringprah'ces of other pharmaceutical industry companies surveyed.
white paper on the value of metrics for measuring the effectiveness of pharmacy services (16). In addition, ASHP developed a position statement in 2004 recommending that pharmacy management should advocate the development and implementation of a pharmacy workload monitoring system that analyzes the impact o
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