Performance Impacts of Medication Management Systems: Process Matters

This study examined two issues related to the medication management process, which includes prescribing, dispensing and administration. First, what is the effect of the extent of automation within the process on costs, revenues and quality? Second, does integration of systems as modeled by the business process also have an effect on costs, revenues and quality? Our dataset included more than 4,000 U.S. hospitals. We found that the level of automation of the medication processes had a positive relationship with revenues and quality. We also found that integration of systems had a negative relationship with pharmacy labor costs. This study provides a foundation for future research in strategies of process automation as well as evidence for healthcare decision makers and policy makers on the business value of health IT.