Are polish hospital pharmacies ready for changes in drug distribution?

All tasks performed by hospital pharmacies concern the management of medicinal products. The aim of this work was to analyze the functioning and implementation costs of unit-dose and multidose automatic drug distribution systems in comparison with the classic mode of so-called ward medicine cabinets. The study was conducted from January 2020 to October 2021. It included a quantitative study, conducted to verify the functioning of hospital pharmacies based on an original questionnaire, which was completed by 26 pharmacists employed in hospital pharmacies, of whom 92.4% were the pharmacy head. Additionally, in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted at four facilities with unit-dose systems and one center that uses the multi-dose system. The work presents the functioning of hospital pharmacies and the advantages and disadvantages of the classic distribution model. Opinions on the operation of unit-dose and multi-dose systems as well as experiences related to their implementation in the hospital, including the necessary changes in the hospital structure and organization, are also presented. In conclusion, despite high purchase costs, automated drug distribution systems bring many benefits for hospital functioning, mainly in relation to patient care, improving pharmacotherapy effectiveness, safety, and individualization. The main barriers to the implementation of these systems are the high costs, lack of IT infrastructure adaptation, the need to change the organization of staff work, and the lack of factory-prepared collective packaging. In the pharmacists' opinion, changes in drug distribution are necessary and beneficial from the proper pharmacotherapy perspective.