Published: February 2026

For directors, the leanest areas involve people, time, and money.

Staffing challenges continue amidst a shortage of licensed pharmacists and experienced pharmacy technicians.^3,4 Amongst hospital employees, pharmacy professionals report the highest burnout rate at 66%, which further strains the already limited workforce.⁵

The sheer volume of administrative tasks and increase in workload requirements create overwhelming burdens for directors and their teams.^2,6 When it comes to compliance, pharmacists’ regulatory overload consumes hundreds of hours, which outweighs that of any other healthcare professional.^1,7 

The budget is also tighter. New-to-market therapies have astronomical price tags,⁸ and the average prices for all prescription drugs has increased by 15.2%, outpacing inflation.⁵ With Americans becoming increasingly uninsured, estimates expect hospitals’ uncompensated care costs will increase by over $278 billion through 2034.⁹

As the industry continues to evolve, pharmacy leaders would certainly appreciate having more of all the above. 

However, they could actually benefit from less of something else: waste. 

Ready to see how your pharmacy can do more with less?

Identifying and eliminating waste in the medication use process will then free up resources, allowing teams to do more with less.

Medication Use: Waste Examples ^10,11

Optimized productivity requires ongoing research and thorough review to continuously improve essential components, which not only benefits pharmacy teams but also their patients and organizations alike.

What can pharmacy directors do to get there? 

Improving a hospital pharmacy’s efficiency first requires leadership to accurately measure all key aspects of its practice, from staff and documentation to execution and impact.¹²

However, productivity is a notoriously challenging metric to quantify in pharmacy settings.¹³ Many underestimate the analytics infrastructure needed to appropriately assess a hospital pharmacy’s entire operational ecosystem.¹⁴

In conducting a full-scale analysis, a successful approach combines the power of technology with a deep bench of pharmacy expertise.   

Ready to see how your pharmacy can do more with less?

• Consolidation: When teams can document, track, and review multi-dimensional metrics all in one pharmacy management platform, it provides the full picture needed to efficiently and accurately determine what to do next.¹⁵
• Visibility: A hospital pharmacy cannot assess what it cannot see.¹⁵ Maintaining full visibility into multi-site operations with real-time data not only helps directors avoid a miss on the first pass but also over time. 
• Automation: From documenting and analyzing findings to identifying and carrying out next steps, an efficiency-focused, technology-enabled methodology is key to streamlining the assessment process itself.¹⁶ Teams leveraging purpose-built software that removes or automates repetitive manual tasks can move the needle even further. 
• Definition: Leadership needs to set clearly defined, measurable goals across the pharmacy’s various operational areas and team roles to hold everyone accountable.¹⁷
• Comparison: Determining whether assessment findings represent high-performing operations or improvement opportunities requires comparable benchmarks—both internal and external. That way, leadership knows what it means to be successful. 
•  Longevity: One-time assessments can miss important trends, which is why tracking performance metrics at consistent intervals over time is so important; advanced data visualization tools can capture far more than traditional reports.¹⁸

An accurate, valid pharmacy assessment will also require an external component to remove confirmation bias from the results. For example, directors could utilize an externally developed assessment or bring in a third-party auditor to conduct it. 

Ready to see how your pharmacy can do more with less? 

Get started with this quick checklist to see different ways your pharmacy could gain impactful efficiencies.  

Submit the form below to download the free checklist. 

References

¹ CPS Solutions, LLC. Addressing hospital pharmacy pain points with time-saving technology. Perspectives blog. July 29, 2025. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://perspectives.cps.com/article-addressing-hospital-pharmacy-pain-points

² CPS Solutions, LLC. Taking hospital pharmacy to the next level. Perspectives blog. August 26, 2025. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://perspectives.cps.com/article-taking-hospital-pharmacy-to-the-next-level  

³ Muchka J. Combating the post-pandemic pharmacy workforce shortage. Pharmacy Times. January 14, 2025. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/combating-the-post-pandemic-pharmacy-workforce-shortage  

⁴ Haas CE. Looking forward to 2026: do more with less. Pharmacy Times. November 11, 2025;14(6). Accessed January 27, 2026. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/looking-forward-to-2026-do-more-with-less  

⁵ American Hospital Association. 2025 environmental scan. November 2024. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2024/11/Environmental-Scan-2025.pdf  

⁶ Pharmacists face demanding workplace environments. US Pharmacist. October 16, 2024. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/pharmacists-face-demanding-workplace-environments  

⁷ Weaver K. Rethinking pharmacy regulation: a call to action for pharmacists and regulators. California Pharmacist. 2024;71(1):23. https://meridian.allenpress.com/jcphp/article-pdf/71/1/23/3343668/i2573-2765-71-1-23.pdf  

⁸ Aitken M, Kleinrock M, Pritchett J. Understanding the Use of Medicines in the U.S. 2025: Evolving Standards of Care, Patient Access, and Spending. IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science; April 30, 2025. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://www.iqvia.com/insights/the-iqvia-institute/reports-and-publications/reports/understanding-the-use-of-medicines-in-the-us-2025  

⁹ Blavin F. Reconciliation bill and end of enhanced subsidies would cut health care provider revenue and spike uncompensated care. Urban Institute. May 29, 2025. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/reconciliation-bill-and-end-enhanced-subsidies-would-cut-health-care-provider  

¹⁰ American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Applying LEAN to the medication use process. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://www.ashp.org/-/media/assets/pharmacy-practice/resource-centers/quality-improvement/learn-about-quality-improvement-applying-lean-medication-use.pdf  

¹¹ Sallam M, Allam D, Kassem R. Improving efficiency in hospital pharmacy services: an integrated strategy using the OCTAGON-P framework and Lean 5S management practices. Cureus. 2024;16(3):e56965. doi:10.7759/cureus.56965  

¹² Barnum JT, Shields KL, Walton SM, Schumock GT. Improving the efficiency of distributive and clinical services in hospital pharmacy. J Med Syst. 2011;35(1):59-70. doi:10.1007/s10916-009-9341-2  

¹³ Brushwood DB. Quantitative measures of pharmacist productivity. APhA CEO blog. October 7, 2023. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://www.pharmacist.com/Blogs/CEO-Blog/Article/quantitative-measures-of-pharmacist-productivity  

¹⁴ Rough S, Brummond P. Beyond the pharmacy plateau: unlocking untapped value. Visante. January 5, 2026. Accessed January 30, 2026. https://www.visante.com/insights/blogs-videos/beyond-pharmacy-plateau/  

¹⁵ How tech improves workflow efficiency in pharmacies. Healthcare IT Today. July 9, 2024. Accessed January 28, 2026. https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2024/07/09/how-tech-improves-workflow-efficiency-in-pharmacies/  

¹⁶ American Pharmacists Association; American Society of Health-System Pharmacists; National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Implementing solutions 2.0: building a sustainable, healthy pharmacy workforce and workplace. September 29, 2025. Accessed January 28, 2026. https://wellbeing.ashp.org/-/media/wellbeing/docs/Implementing-Solutions-Report-2-2025.pdf

¹⁷ Zaporowski K. 5 modern tools to increase productivity at your pharmacy. Updox blog. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://www.updox.com/blog/tools-to-increase-pharmacy-productivity/

¹⁸ Yi WM, Bernstein A, Vest MH, Colmenares EW, Francart S. Role of pharmacy analytics in creating a data-driven culture for frontline management. Hosp Pharm. 2020;56(5):495-500. doi:10.1177/0018578720920799