Hospital Pharmacy - July/August 2018 - 225

761021
research-article2018

HPXXXX10.1177/0018578718761021Hospital PharmacyMagrum and Weber

Director's Forum

Restructuring a Pharmacy Department:
Leadership Strategies for Managing
Organizational Change

Hospital Pharmacy
2018, Vol. 53(4) 225-229
© The Author(s) 2018
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https://doi.org/10.1177/0018578718761021
DOI: 10.1177/0018578718761021
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BrookeAnne Magrum1 and Robert J. Weber1

Abstract
Background: The Director's Forum series is designed to guide pharmacy leaders in establishing patient-centered
services in hospitals and health-systems. This article focuses on leadership strategies for managing organizational change
within a pharmacy department. Objective: The goals of this article are to describe the foundations of pharmacy
organizational structure changes and strategies to efficiently and effectively manage the associated change. Methods:
This article will aim to (1) describe the organizational structure change process, (2) list known rules to follow when
redesigning an organizational structure, (3) briefly describe the organizational change at the Ohio State Wexner Medical
Center, and (4) describe leadership strategies to overcome potential challenges of organizational changes. Conclusion:
The strategies discussed in this article and proposed sample template for organizational change process may be used
by a pharmacy department in an effort to restructure their department.
Keywords
management, pharmacists, education, staff development

Introduction
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacist's
(ASHP) Pharmacy Practice Model Summit took place in
2010 that called for a monumental change in the health-system pharmacy's national agenda. This meeting consisted of
one-hundred health-system pharmacy leaders who decided
on three aggressive goals for health-system pharmacists.
These goals include (1) pharmacists in health-systems must
commit boldly to being totally accountable for the medication use process, (2) pharmacists should engage the institution's executives, physicians, and nurses in creating a
strategic vision for the pharmacy department, and (3) pharmacists must advocate for reform in pharmacy practice laws
to promote pharmacists practicing at the top of their license
and as part of the health care team.
Since the ASHP Pharmacy Practice Model Summit, the
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC)
pharmacy department underwent many changes and growth
including, but not limited to, expanded pharmacy services,
implemented an integrated medical record, and opened a
cancer hospital. With the growth and change within the
department, along with the drive from ASHP to change
health-system pharmacy, the leaders of the pharmacy department developed a new strategic plan in 2012. Even after the
implementation and success of the new strategic plan, the
need for a formal and holistic organizational restructure was

crucial to integrate all aspects of the pharmacy department
and increase efficiency of the staff. In addition, there was a
considerable amount of pressure on the pharmacy to comply
with the public demand for improvements in medication
availability, affordability, safety, and effectiveness. The
senior leadership team of the OSUWMC supported a structure reorganization that allows for efficiency and effectiveness in a large and wide-scale pharmacy enterprise. The
goals of the department's reorganization were as follows:
** Provide the highest level of pharmaceutical care,
teaching, and research needs of patients, staff, faculty,
and students
** Design a structure that is contemporary in its content
and evidence-based in its approach
** Respect the diverse and potentially different needs of
various patient populations
** Promote the strategic plan of the department and the
organization

1

The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA

Corresponding Author:
Robert J. Weber, Administrator, Department of Pharmacy, The Ohio
State University Wexner Medical Center, 368 Doan Hall, Columbus, OH
43210, USA.
Email: robert.weber@osumc.edu
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