Administrative Time Availability in Health-System Clinical Pharmacist Workflows: A Nationwide Survey and Descriptive Report.

Abstract

Background: Health-system clinical pharmacists are responsible for a wide range of tasks throughout the workday. Recent literature highlights the prevalence of burnout among pharmacists and the challenges they face in finding adequate time to complete non-patient care responsibilities. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the administrative time practices of health-system clinical pharmacists around the United States. Methods: This study involved a survey distributed via e-mail to members of the American College of Clinical Pharmacists Practice Research Networks and American Society for Health-Systems Pharmacists online forums in March 2023. The survey contained 18 items aimed at describing pharmacist administrative time practices. The primary endpoint was the number of pharmacists reporting dedicated, protected administrative time availability. Results: A total of 303 pharmacists responded to the survey. Most were clinical specialists (n = 163, 53.8%) who had been practicing for more than 10 years (n = 132, 43.6%) in an academic medical center (n = 138, 45.5%). In regards to the primary endpoint, the majority (n = 198, 65.3%) responded that they are not provided dedicated, protected administrative time. When residency program directors (RPDs) (n = 57) were asked if they were specifically allotted administrative time, a majority of RPDs (n = 32, 56%) responded no. Conclusion: The majority of responding health-system clinical pharmacists are not provided with protected administrative time to complete non-patient care related tasks. Administrative time is one modifiable factor from the institutional perspective that can help to mitigate pharmacist burnout.