With wait times down almost as sharply as customer satisfaction is up at the pharmacy at Naval Health Clinic Quantico, the lead pharmacy technician who initiated and helped to conduct a massive overhaul of the department is getting national recognition.

In late June, Tricia Rampersad learned she is one of three finalists in the Technician of the Year category of the fourth annual Next-Generation Pharmacist awards. The awards, established by Parata Systems and Pharmacy Times, recognize those who are defining the future of the pharmacy industry, both civilian and military. Finalists were chosen in 10 categories from more than 300 entries.

“I feel that she was a process-improvement champion,” said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Mabry, head of the clinic’s Pharmacy Department, who nominated Rampersad. “Her dedication, eagerness and willingness to move forward in the face of resistance to change are why I feel she went above and beyond.”

When Mabry arrived at the pharmacy almost two years ago, he said, “I already knew there was a problem.”

The wait at the dispensing window was within the wait-time goal only about 30 percent of the time. The few customer comments through the Navy Medicine Monitor were usually complaints.

Morale was low, it was difficult to monitor performance and determine accountability, and training needed improvement, Rampersad said. “Another thing was work flow. It made absolutely no sense. We were running all over the pharmacy.”

Rampersad, who had already been at the clinic for about four years and worked as lead technician for a year and a half, was pushing a number of stalled changes that were underway, but her position didn’t give her enough clout, and the department had been without a commander for months. In Mabry, though, she found an enthusiastic collaborator.

Renovations to part of the pharmacy were expanded to the entire department, improving work flow. Record-keeping and communication moved from a paper system to an electronic one, mainly due to implementation of an electronic queue management system. The system not only allows customers to check themselves in but also connects check-in to the dispensing and filling stations and keeps records of all steps of the prescription-filling process.

Having all these electronic records has improved individual accountability and the capability to monitor how well the department performs, Mabry said.

An automated medicine-dispensing machine has also helped.

Altogether, the improvements have cut wait times at the pharmacy in half.

With return rates on the customer satisfaction survey now over 50 percent — compared with about 6 percent previously — thanks to survey kiosks recently installed throughout the clinic, satisfaction is at about 90 percent and rising, Mabry said.

“It’s worked,” he said. “The patients have seen it. We’re getting more compliments on staff interactions than we ever did in the history of this place.”

Throughout the process, Mabry said, Rampersad had the job of managing the changes on the floor with a workforce that wasn’t always ready for them.

“I had to stand firm and really just keep re-educating them,” Rampersad said. “I couldn’t take their resistance at face value and say, ‘They’re just being resistant.’” Instead, she explained why changes were necessary and tried to understand the reasons for pushback, she said.

Mabry said Rampersad helped him fine-tune his ideas and then went out into the pharmacy and made them happen. Moreover, he said, “Whenever she felt something was wrong or needed to be fixed, she provided a solution. Most people like to complain about what’s wrong, but they don’t know how to fix it.”

Most people are also more likely to report their opinions when they’re complaints, Rampersad said, adding that the recognition is appreciated and refreshing. “I found it an honor just to be nominated. That meant a lot.”

A winner in each category, as well as an overall 2013 Next-Generation Pharmacist, will be named at an awards ceremony at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Aug. 11. Rampersad has put in for leave to be there.

The award is to recognize an entire career, so for Mabry to nominate her, Rampersad had to fill him in on her earlier work at a long-term care pharmacy, at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital and in retail pharmacy.  In the process, she said, she had a realization: “I’ve actually been doing this kind of stuff all along. I just didn’t know it.”

She considers the process improvement she’s done at the Quantico clinic the culmination of a lot of work she’s done elsewhere, she said. “I’ve always had it in me, but I didn’t know, and I commend Cmdr. Mabry for pushing me and bringing that out.”

— Writer: mdicicco@quanticosentryonline.com