Time savings associated with dispensing unit-of-use packages.

Objectives: To determine how much time can be saved with the use of unit-of-use packaging in a community pharmacy, the distribution of work between the pharmacist and the pharmacy technician when unit-of-use packaging is used, and the number of errors that occur when either unit-of-use or bulk packaging is used in dispensing prescriptions.

Design: A simulation comparing count-and-pour dispensing with unit-of-use package dispensing.

Setting: An independent community pharmacy.