Management in Pharmacy

Management in Pharmacy

• Management is a process that involves bringing together resources to achieve common goals efficiently, which applies to both simple and complex tasks.

Management Activities

• Anyone who has a task to accomplish or a goal to achieve is a manager, regardless of their job responsibilities or position.
• Management involves planning, organizing, leading/directing, and control/evaluation activities.

Planning

• Planning is a key function of managers that involves predetermining a course of action based on goals and objectives, considering internal and external environments.
• Planning can be formal or informal and is essential for achieving goals and objectives.

Organizing

• Organizing involves the arrangement and relationship of activities and resources necessary for effective accomplishment of goals or objectives.
• It determines required resources and when to obtain them.

Leading or Directing

• Leading or directing involves bringing about purposeful action toward desired outcomes, requiring leadership skills.

Control or Evaluation

• Control or evaluation involves reviewing progress made towards objectives, determining what happened and why, and ensuring quality and effectiveness.

Resources That Are Managed

• Managers must use resources, including money, people, time, material resources, and information, to achieve goals and objectives.
• Resources are scarce and must be used efficiently.

Levels of Management

• Management activities occur at different levels, including self-management, interpersonal management, and organizational management.
• Managers perform activities at all levels.

Self-Management

• Self-management is the most frequent level of management, which involves pharmacists prioritizing and managing time efficiently to accomplish tasks and counsel patients.

Interpersonal and Organizational Management

• Interpersonal management occurs between a manager and one other person, while organizational management affects groups of people and occurs at work and in personal lives.

Planning in General for Pharmacy Organizations

• Planning involves purposeful efforts taken by an organization to maximize its future success.
• Planning may involve managers and frontline employees.

Types of Planning Activities

• There are several types of planning activities, including business planning, financial planning, operational planning, resource planning, organizational planning, and strategic planning.

Vision and Mission

• A vision statement describes what the organization wants to be in the future, while a mission statement defines the purpose and definition of the company.
• Both statements are essential for creating momentum and motivation.

The Business Concept

• The pharmacy business combines patient care and entrepreneurship, driving advances in the profession.
• Pharmacists can create new innovative services that fulfill patient needs and generate profits.

Preliminary Evaluation

• A preliminary evaluation is necessary to determine if the business concept merits the development of a complete business plan.
• This involves conducting a literature search and exploring the business concept.

Complete Business Plan

• A complete business plan involves seeking input from key stakeholders, defining the business or program, conducting market research and analysis, and more.

Steps in the Development of a Business Plan

• Define the business or program and its mission statement.
• Conduct market research and analysis, including identifying the target market and competitor analysis.
• Assess clinical and quality requirements, such as applicable regulations and requirements.
• Define processes and operations, including organizational structure and marketing strategy.
• Develop financial projections, including costs and revenue estimates.
• Identify an action plan, including major milestones and start/finish dates.
• Assess critical risks and opportunities using a SWOT analysis.
• Establish an exit plan, including benchmarks for success and failure.

The Link Between Operations and Profitability

• Operations affect profitability in businesses, and efficiency in operations is crucial to improve profit margins.
• Example: Pharmacy compounding a product requires efficient operations to minimize costs and maximize revenue.

Outputs of a Pharmacy

• Outputs of a pharmacy include goods and services provided, such as prescription filling and compounded products.
• Managing operations for the highest quality at the lowest cost justifies the existence of a business.

Capacity and Bottlenecks

• Processes have specific capacities, and bottlenecks are the limiting resources.
• Identify and eliminate bottlenecks to increase capacity and improve profitability.

Flowcharts and Process Analysis

• Flowcharts are diagrams of steps in creating goods or services that help analyze resources and improve processes.
• Identify and evaluate capacities and bottlenecks, and manage quality through understanding the process.