Arzneimittelversorgung im Krankenhaus - Aktuelle und zukünftige Gestaltungsoptionen des internen Arzneimittel Supply Chain Managements im Krankenhaus

Objective Inpatient health care is a complex, labor-intensive and fragmented service provided by a multitude of different departments, specialist disciplines and professionals. One of the core elements of inpatient health care is the supply of pharmaceuticals and therapy. Thus, the question arises: How can the existing and future organization (i. e., objectives, structures, processes and results) of the in-house pharmaceutical supply improve the security of supply and the quality of care at the point of care in hospitals? Method The different objectives, challenges and solutions of in-house pharmaceutical supply in the hospital were analyzed by means of a semi-structured literature research as well as an online survey of hospital pharmacies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (N = 412; n = 61, rr = 14.8 %). The different objectives, challenges and approaches of the in-house pharmaceutical supply in hospitals were collected and analyzed from the perspective of heads of hospital pharmacies. Results It became clear that in addition to cross-sectoral trends in logistics and procurement, such as purchasing communities, automated transport, trans-shipment and storage, the communication and interaction between health professionals and the pharmacy, and the associated trust relationship, are decisive for the reliability of supply and quality in patient care. In addition, the knowledge-based support services provided by hospital pharmacies are becoming more and more important in inpatient hospital care. Conclusions The identified objectives, challenges and approaches to solutions, as well as the associated need for action, call for a transparent and targeted in-house pharmaceutical supply in hospital as well as overlapping communication between actors involved in smoothly-running care processes.