Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Equitable access to pharmaceutical services depends on medicine availability and workforce capacity. Increasing demand for pharmacy services, high-cost medicine management, and patient-centered care has intensified the need for workforce planning approaches supporting resource allocation and evidence-informed policy decisions. In Greece, approximately 310 hospital pharmacists support 127 hospital pharmacies, while around 150 pharmacists staff 37 outpatient pharmacies dispensing high-cost medicines. Workforce distribution is not consistently aligned with workload, service complexity, or population needs. This study aimed to develop an evidence-based workforce planning framework to support staffing decisions and improve access to pharmaceutical services.
METHODS: A hybrid workforce planning model was developed integrating workload-based estimation, ratio-based clinical staffing, and fixed allocations for specialized clinical, governance, quality, educational, and management functions. Staffing requirements were expressed in full-time equivalents (FTE), assuming 1,650 working hours per pharmacist. The framework was applied to representative hospital and outpatient pharmacy scenarios of varying complexity. One-way sensitivity analyses assessed the impact of operational parameters on staffing estimates.
RESULTS: In a representative 400-bed hospital, estimated pharmacist staffing requirements ranged from 12 FTE in medium-complexity settings to 17-18 FTE in high-complexity settings. Staffing demand was primarily driven by chemotherapy services, outpatient pharmaceutical care, and specialized clinical pharmacy activities. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated variations of up to 1.8 FTE. In outpatient pharmacies dispensing high-cost medicines, a minimum staffing level of 3 FTE per site was required to support approximately 550-700 patients monthly, with 60% of staffing allocated to dispensing activities and 40% to administrative and patient access processes. The framework identified workforce constraints that may affect service availability and access to pharmaceutical care.
CONCLUSIONS: This framework provides an evidence-based tool for aligning workforce capacity with healthcare demand and service complexity. It can support workforce distribution, resource allocation, and policy decisions aimed at reducing geographical inequalities, improving access to pharmaceutical services, and strengthening health system sustainability.