Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33608438›Full record

Observational studyEuropean journal of hospital pharmacy : science and practice2021

Cost-effectiveness of two technology-assisted manual medication picking systems versus traditional manual picking in a hospital outpatient pharmacy.

Marcus Eng Hwa Teo, Bih Yee Chia, Yeng Ching Lee, Pearlyn Li Ying Tay, Jane Ai Wong, Soo Boon Lee, Mun Moon Lim, McVin Hua Heng Cheen

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in European journal of hospital pharmacy : science and practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Marcus Eng Hwa TeoPharmacy, Singapore General Hospital Department of Pharmacy, Singapore.
Bih Yee ChiaPharmacy, Singapore General Hospital Department of Pharmacy, Singapore.
Yeng Ching LeePharmacy, Singapore General Hospital Department of Pharmacy, Singapore.
Pearlyn Li Ying TayPharmacy, Singapore General Hospital Department of Pharmacy, Singapore.
Jane Ai WongPharmacy, Singapore General Hospital Department of Pharmacy, Singapore.
Soo Boon LeePharmacy, Singapore General Hospital Department of Pharmacy, Singapore.
Mun Moon LimPharmacy, Singapore General Hospital Department of Pharmacy, Singapore.
McVin Hua Heng CheenPharmacy, Singapore General Hospital Department of Pharmacy, Singapore mcvin_chen@hotmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate the cost-effectiveness of two technology assisted manual medication picking systems vs traditional manual picking.

methodsThis was a retrospective observational study comparing three outpatient pharmacies of a tertiary referral hospital in Singapore, where a light-emitting diode (LED-guided) manual picking system, an LED-guided manual picking plus lockable drawer (LED-LD) system, and traditional manual picking were implemented, respectively. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of medication near-misses over the observation period. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per near-miss avoided was also determined. Data on medications picked and near-misses reported between September 2017 and June 2018 were retrieved from electronic databases. The incidence of medication near-misses from the LED-guided and LED-LD systems, relative to traditional picking, was compared using logistic regression. We compared annual operating costs between manual medication picking systems, and reported ICERs per near-miss avoided, to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of each picking system.

resultsA total of 358 144, 397 343 and 254 162 medications were picked by traditional manual picking, LED-guided and LED-LD systems, respectively. The corresponding near-miss rates were 8.32, 4.08 and 0.69 per 10 000 medications picked, respectively. Medication near-miss rates were significantly lower for the LED-guided (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.59, p<0.001) and LED-LD systems (OR 0.08, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.13, p<0.001) compared with traditional picking. The annual operating costs of traditional picking, LED-guided and LED-LD systems were S$60 912, S$129 832 and S$152 894, respectively. The LED-guided and LED-LD systems yielded ICERs of S$189 and S$140 per near-miss avoided, respectively, compared with traditional manual picking.

conclusionThe LED-LD system is more cost-effective than both the LED-guided and manual medication picking systems in reducing medication picking near-misses.

Indexed as

PharmaciesPharmacyCost-Benefit AnalysisHospitalsHumansOutpatientsTechnologyautomationcost-effectivenessmedication safetypharmacySingaporetechnology

Identifiers

PMID33608438
PMCPMC7907698

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.