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Background To date, there is no national or international consensus on which key performance indicators ( KPIs) should be used to measure hospital pharmacy performance. Aim To explore hospital pharmacists' perspectives on the role of KPIs and to use their perspectives to suggest a set of KPIs for use in Australian hospital pharmacy practice. Methods The study comprised of two parts. Part A involved semi-structured interviews with hospital pharmacists from major Sydney metropolitan hospitals; interviews were conducted until theme saturation was attained. Part B involved an online survey comprising Likert-scale responses and open-ended questions; the survey was distributed nationally to pharmacists via the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia ( SHPA) eNewsletter and Facebook page. Results Part A: 19 hospital pharmacists were interviewed. Part B: 49 online surveys were received (after excluding incomplete submissions). Overall, the emergent themes identified that hospital pharmacists agreed that KPIs are a valuable tool for individual and departmental performance measurement; the use of KPIs was challenged by data collection difficulties, a lack of engagement from staff, and a lack of clarification regarding the intended use of KPIs and their relevance. The study identified a consolidated set of seven KPIs, proposed as standard measures for hospital pharmacy practice. Conclusion There is a perceived need to develop national standardised KPIs to demonstrate the value of pharmacy services at the individual and departmental levels. However, there are challenges that will need to be addressed before the implementation of a set of consolidated KPIs that encompasses the full scope of pharmacy activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The aim of this review was to explore the status of key performance indicators ( KPIs) in Australian hospital pharmacy practice. Data sources For this narrative review, databases ( MEDLINE, PubMed and EBSCO) were searched for relevant publications within the period from April 1980 to April 2014 using the following search terms: hospital pharmacy, key performance indicators, performance measures, clinical indicators and benchmarking. The inclusion criteria were as follows: full text papers (papers only available as abstracts were discarded) and English language. Reference lists of selected papers were also searched to identify additional literature. Results While there are established competencies, standards and quality use of medicines ( QUM) indicators for hospital pharmacy in Australia, there are no standardised KPIs relating to the performance and practice of hospital pharmacy. International research has demonstrated that KPIs are valuable tools for measuring pharmacy performance; the need for KPIs is highlighted in research from the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Particular challenges associated with KPI implementation include: the need for relevance to all stakeholders; difficulties in measuring pharmacists' activities due to the inherent nature of their work; lack of resources for data collection; limited understanding of KPIs; and negative attitudes toward KPIs by some pharmacists. Conclusion Before nationally standardised KPIs are introduced into Australian hospital pharmacy practice, attention must be paid to developing relevant measures through careful consultation with all relevant stakeholders, including pharmacists themselves. KPIs should provide relevant results, be easy to measure and highlight the value of hospital pharmacy services in a resource-friendly manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]