VA CMOPs: producing a pattern of quality and efficiency in government.

Objective: To describe the modern, highly efficient, and effective production of prescriptions in a contemporary pharmacy practice setting using large-scale automated dispensing systems.

Setting: 83,000-square-foot Department of Veterans Affairs Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (VA CMOP) facility in Tucson, AZ.

Practice Description: The Tucson VA CMOP is one of seven highly automated, large-volume mail service pharmacy operations that prepare, dispense, and mail approximately 100 million prescriptions annually to veterans throughout the United States. The sophisticated automated dispensing systems allow production to be accomplished quickly and at a lower cost than performing the same dispensing tasks at local VA Medical Center (VAMC) pharmacies. As a result of CMOP dispensing program support, pharmacists at local VAMC pharmacies and clinics have the opportunity to spend more time counseling patients instead of being distracted by non-clinical product dispensing tasks.

Conclusion: VA CMOPs contribute to improving patient care by reorganizing the patient prescription dispensing workflow dynamic from a systems perspective, thereby allowing local VA health care facility pharmacists and other health care providers to better address and resolve patients' medication use issues. Ultimately, the VA CMOP network is a dynamic example of an organizational component within the VA health care system that actively contributes to the government's goal of working better and costing less.