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Sacramento County Pharmacy, More Than Just Prescriptions |
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The County Pharmacy is an operational unit within the Primary Health Services Division. The pharmacy provides pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to nearly all Departments within the County, as well as, many county affiliated entities. There are six units within the pharmacy that provide specific services or functions; Dispensing Operations, Be SMART Educational Program, Mental Health Services, Jail Services, Stockroom Operations, and Administrative Operations. The Pharmacy staff consists of over 48 permanent and on-call positions (pharmacy director, pharmacists, pharmacy resident, pharmacy technicians, dietitian, medical assistant, nurse, health educator, administrative services officer, stock clerks, account clerks, office assistants, and translators).
- Dispensing Operations are responsible for providing prescription dispensing, drug formulary management, patient counseling, and disease state management to the Clinic Services Unit of Primary Health Services Division, Mental Health Division, and Correctional Health Services. At this time, the unit processes an average of 1,200 prescriptions a day. Staff is currently working on implementation of an automated prescription dispensing robot, allowing even higher prescription volume and expansion of staff roles in disease state management that will assure appropriate use of medications.
- The Mental Health Services unit of pharmacy operations is responsible for providing pharmacy services, such as dispensing discharge medications, chart audits, and medication education counseling. They serve on various committees for to the Mental Health Division, which include the Sacramento Mental Health Treatment Center, the Regional Support Teams, Integral Service Agencies, Adult Psychiatric Support Services, and Sacramento County Children and Adolescent Psychiatric Services. Anticipated future services range from expansion of inpatient beds at the treatment center, expansion of services and facilities for Children, and expansion of disease management programs to outpatients in an effort to better manage chronic diseases of our mental health population.
- Stockroom Operations is responsible for providing medical supplies and medications to our county clinics, mental health facilities, correctional facilities, and other community based organizations. They store and distribute all immunizations that are sent from the State to our clinics and work closely with the County Immunization Program. They also are the messenger and transport services between the County Laboratory, Clinics, and Correctional Facilities. Due to great strides in modern technology, they hope to soon implement electronic wireless ordering and receiving from their supply vendors.
- The Jail Services unit falls under two Departments in Sacramento County. Correctional Health Services is under the Sheriff’s Department, Correctional Services Area and provides medical services to incarcerated adults. Juvenile Medical Services is under the Department of Health and Human Services, Primary Health Services Division and administers and manages health services for incarcerated minors. Pharmacists are directly assigned to both the Correctional Health Services and Juvenile Medical Services programs. The pharmacy provides the jails and the youth detention centers with prescription services, pharmaceutical supplies and personnel support.
- The Pharmacy Administration unit prepares and monitors the pharmacy budget, processes accounts payable transactions in excess of $7M annually, and provides clerical support. The unit is also responsible for operating the pharmacy free drug programs. Free drug programs are programs offered by pharmaceutical companies to assist public and charitable agencies in providing vital medication to medically indigent patients. Over the last eight years, the pharmacy’s free drug programs have grown from one program with annual savings of $300,000 to eleven programs with annual savings in excess of $4.4 M. The savings acquired through pharmaceutical companies greatly reduces overall pharmaceutical expenditures, which in turn affords the pharmacy the opportunity to offer the highest quality of services.
The pharmacy staff is dedicated to implementing creative and innovative ways to assist our community and patient population. We strive to keep abreast of new technologies and practices that have the potential to enhance and benefit our patient population.
| | | | | | | By: Staff | | |
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