Resolution No:109-7-13
Title: Performance Metrics and Quotas in the Practice of Pharmacy
Action: PASS
WHEREAS, a survey conducted by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) of 673 pharmacists revealed that 83% believed that distractions due to performance metrics or measured wait times contributed to dispensing errors and that 49% felt specific time measurements were a significant contributing factor; and
WHEREAS, performance metrics, which measure the speed and efficiency of prescription work flow by such parameters as prescription wait times, percentage of prescriptions filled within a specified time period, number of prescriptions verified, and number of immunizations given per pharmacist shift, may distract pharmacists and impair professional judgment; and
WHEREAS, the practice of applying performance metrics or quotas to pharmacists in the practice of pharmacy may cause distractions that could potentially decrease pharmacists’ ability to perform drug utilization review, interact with patients, and maintain attention to detail, which could ultimately lead to unsafe conditions in the pharmacy;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) assist the state boards of pharmacy to regulate, restrict, or prohibit the use in pharmacies of performance metrics or quotas that are proven to cause distractions and unsafe environments for pharmacists and technicians; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NABP review and propose amendments to the Model State Pharmacy Act and Model Rules of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy to address the regulation, restriction, or prohibition of the application of performance metrics and quotas that are proven to cause distractions and unsafe environments for pharmacists and technicians.
(Resolution passed at the NABP 109th Annual Meeting in St Louis, MO)