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IMPLEMENTATION OF A BIGDATA ANALYSIS PROGRAM FOR STOCK MANAGEMENT IN A PHARMACY SERVICE

European Statement

Clinical Pharmacy Services

Author(s)

LUCÍA SOPENA, VICENTE GIMENO, OLGA PEREIRA, Mª ANGELES ALLENDE, RAQUEL FRESQUET, RAQUEL GRACIA, BEATRIZ BONAGA, MERCEDES ARENERE, TRÁNSITO SALVADOR, ALBERTO FRUTOS

Why was it done?

The growing technological development of pharmacy services involves the coexistence of traditional warehouses with automated medicine dispensing systems controlled by different computer programs. The information was splitted into different systems and databases giving rise to possible errors due to the greater complexity.
This is a threat but also an opportunity for the hospital pharmacist to lead the development, review, and improvement of medicine use processes and the use of health technologies.
KNIME data analysis covered the need of our Pharmacy Service to blend data from any source in a single file simplifying the process.

What was done?

The Pharmacy Service of a tertiary-level hospital has implemented Konstanz Information Miner (KNIME) data analysis and treatment program to optimize the stock management of several medicines.

How was it done?

An initial algorithm was designed by the union of 7 files and can be executed at any time to obtain the updated data.

What has been achieved?

This file provides up-to-date information about the stocks, stock-outs, consumptions, orders and purchasing data of all medicines (average price, laboratory, date and number of orders, units to be received).
In addition, KNIME calculated the coverage time from consumption, and the current stock in the warehouses, obtaining a global vision of highest turnaround pharmaceuticals drugs.
The program also allows linking and merging data of the list for shortages of medicines, supply disruptions and restocking time provided by the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS).
KNIME program has been especially important in our Pharmacy Service during the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Big data analysis has allowed the hospital pharmacist to anticipate missing specialties and to make a rapid response in ensuring the availability of Essential Medicines List (EML) composed by 75 proposed by AEMPS and 138 by our hospital (e.g. antiinfectives, analgesics, muscle relaxants, anesthetics).

What next?

KNIME is a tool that could be successfully implemented and appropriately generalized as recommended to all Pharmacy Services that use different data sources, and want to have a generalized view of the information.
KNIME represents an advance in the stock and stockpiling management of medicines specialties to work more efficiently, which improve patient care and safety.

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