Why might a hospital utilize a dispense queue in its central pharmacy?

Utilizing a dispense queue in a central pharmacy serves primarily to ensure systematic dispensing of medications. This organizational tool helps streamline the workflow within the pharmacy, allowing pharmacists and technicians to process medication orders in a structured and efficient manner. By implementing a dispense queue, the pharmacy can maintain order, minimize errors, and enhance patient safety by ensuring that medications are dispensed in the right sequence and correctly matched to patient prescriptions.

While managing inventory levels, assessing staff performance, and tracking medication costs are important aspects of pharmacy operations, they are not the primary focus of a dispense queue. The queue is specifically designed to handle the dispensing process, making it an essential component in the overall medication management system, contributing to accurate and timely delivery of medications to patients.