ASHP national survey on informatics: Assessment of the adoption and use of pharmacy informatics in U.S. hospitals—2007

Purpose. Results of the 2007 ASHP national survey on informatics are presented. Methods. All types and sizes of hospitals in the United States were included in the sample of 4112 pharmacy directors surveyed using an online data collection tool. The survey included over 300 data elements and was designed to assess the adoption and use of pharmacy informatics and technology within the medication-use process. Results. In this national probability sample survey, the response rate was 25.9%. Hospitals appear to be moving toward an enterprise approach to information technology adoption and away from a best-of-breed approach. Although nearly half of hospitals have components of an electronic medical record (EMR), a complete digital hospital with a fully implemented EMR is far in the future, with only 5.9% of hospitals being fully digital (without paper records). An estimated 12.0% of hospitals use computerized prescriber-order-entry systems with decision support, 24.1% use bar-code medication administration, and 44.0% use intelligent infusion devices (smart pumps). Many of these technologies were not optimally configured, and significant advances must be made for hospitals to fully realize the benefits of these technologies. Hospitals have implemented many technologies in drug distribution, with 82.8% of hospitals having automated dispensing cabinets, 10.1% having robots, and 12.7% having carousel systems to manage inventory. Finally, most hospitals reported plans to adopt most of these technologies. Conclusion. This survey found that informatics and medication-use system technologies are widely present in all steps of the medication-use process. These technologies touch all health care professionals in the hospital and demonstrate the significant responsibility the pharmacy department holds for these technologies.