Ergonomics Win in a Hospital Pharmacy – Case Study

Do you wander what the various hazards are present behind the scenes in your local pharmacy? Well, believe it or not, the pharmacy is one of the highest departments with ergonomic related risk factors. The reason being is the high repetition of various tasks, especially since there needs to be a lot of computerized systems that workers interact with that ensure that people are getting the correct prescription.

To ensure that pharmacy workers are kept accountable, the computer access is controlled by a fingerprint scanner which ensures that you are you. So, employees may have to use a single digit registered in this scanner system every time an action on the computer system is performed. This translates to hundreds of finger presses. As you can imagine, it can play a toll on the joints and connective tissues of the finger and hands.

So here are some ways to reduce the risk to fingers and hands when using the fingerprint scanner:

1.       Positioned the fingerprint device next to the keyboard, attached with some tape, so that the full pronation is no longer necessary.

2.       Use the thumb to pinch the device with a more neutral position instead of pronating the forearm and using the index finger.

3.       Using lotion may help the scanner pick up the fingerprint better.

4.       Alternate between fingerprint scanning and manually entering credentials which may significantly reduce efficiency but may be worth doing for some employees.

5.       Have employees type in their ID at the beginning of their day to bypass the biometric scanner as another option.

6.       Move the biometric device closer to the employee’s core to prevent reaching.

7.       Every month or quarter (based upon a user’s comfort level) reprogram the biometric fingerprint to be a different finger/hand, as needed, instead of using the same forefinger/hand.

8.       Use a soft touch, roll the finger or hold it on the scanner lightly, for scanning the fingerprint, not a hard “press button”.

9.       Wait a second for the scanner to read the fingerprint.  Do not continue to press the scanner over and over without allowing it to read the fingerprint.

10.   Clean the scanner on a frequent basis.