The Effect of Performance Transparency on Adherence to Barcode Scanning During Order Preparation in an Adult Inpatient Satellite Pharmacy

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of performance transparency and individualized feedback on pharmacy technician compliance with barcode verification technology during inpatient order preparation. Methods: Following the incorporation of barcode scanning technology into the workflow of pharmacy staff, a multiphasic intervention was employed to promote its use. The intervention included verbal feedback and publically posting performance metrics to increase accountability. An interrupted time-series analysis was conducted to ascertain trends and levels in the percent of orders that were dispensed using barcode verification, before and after the study intervention. Analyses were conducted by shift and overall for pharmacy workers in a single satellite pharmacy. Results: A significant increase in percent scanned orders was observed immediately following the intervention in our analysis of all pharmacy workers (+14.4%; P =.045; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.35-28.4). In the analysis of each shift, statistically significant increases in percent scanned orders were observed immediately following the intervention for both the evening shift (+5.1%; P =.024; 95% CI: 0.70-9.6) and the night shift (+29.9%; P =.025; 95% CI: 3.9-55.9), but not the day shift (+2.6; P =.707; 95% CI: −11.1 to 16.2). Conclusion: Increasing transparency of individual and team performance metrics in conjunction with targeted feedback is an effective intervention to improve compliance with barcode scanning technology.