TRENDS
BEATING BURNOUT Two national organizations help pharmacies tackle a major threat to the profession
W
ith a patient waiting at the pharmacy counter, another on
COMMON CAUSES OF BURNOUT
hold, and a backlog of administrative work on the desk, a
The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly amplified feelings of burnout,
retail pharmacy can be an overwhelming workplace on the best of
but Rothholz emphasized it isn't a new phenomenon for pharmacy
days. When pharmacists and other staff members face demanding
staff. It has been brewing under the surface for many years across
workloads day in and day out, feeling overwhelmed can start to
the entire healthcare system.
transform into feeling burned out.
"Some of the issues surrounding well-being distress are not
"People get fatigued and they report out or don't show up
having enough staff, not having the resources or the technology
for work at all. You've got people who leave the job and, in some
to do your job, and the never-ending phone-ringing that disrupts
cases, leave the profession entirely,” said Mitch Rothholz, chief of
members of the pharmacy from providing care and focusing their
governance and state of affiliates and executive director at the
time on patients' needs," he explained. Pharmacy employees are
American Pharmacists Association (APhA), which has co-authored
often given a full plate of tasks with no one to assist when things
a new report on pharmacist well-being in the United States. Many
get chaotic.
pharmacies are having to reduce their hours of operation or even close entirely on days they don't have enough staff available. “It’s not sustainable for practices and is having long-term
On top of the typical prescription dispensing process, patient care services add another layer of stress on the day-to-day commotion of keeping the pharmacy running. Covid-19 vaccinations,
effects on the profession,” said Rothholz. Besides depleting the
testing, and treatment, along with the regular vaccinations and lab
workforce, burnout creates a negative work environment and a
tests, have to be performed within the daily workflow. "They all can
worse patient experience. It can manifest in employees being rude
contribute to feeling overwhelmed," Rothholz said.
with patients, or worse, making medication errors because they aren't alert or are distracted in their pharmacy duties.
Another exacerbating factor is the lack of down time. Lunch breaks are good, but Rothholz explained that many pharmacy employees need stretches of time during the workday to catch up on administrative tasks without being interrupted by patients or other pharmacy staff.
HOW TO REDUCE BURNOUT IN YOUR PHARMACY Even though well-being distress, which can lead to burnout, is a concern, there are changes you can make to lessen the impact in your community pharmacy. Rothholz gives four workflow remedies.
MINIMIZE PHONE CALLS
8
APPOINTMENT-BASED MODEL
GUARANTEE FOCUSED TIME
EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY
Divert phone calls to
"The appointment-
"You can set it up so the
Manage patients'
a call center or use
based model creates
first hour of the day or
expectations about
an interactive voice
a mechanism for
the last hour of the day
what pharmacy staff
recording system that
predictability for the
has no phone calls and
can reasonably do for
has clear messaging
team," Rothholz said.
no patients," he said.
them. “Harassment of
for patients. Or let your
Under this model,
Make sure it’s every
pharmacy personnel
front-end staff handle
pharmacy managers can
day, and that teams are
by the patients and
and direct incoming calls.
better align staff with
compensated for this
consumers is real,”
demand.
time.
Rothholz said.
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