Evaluation of Patterns in Pharmacy Labor Modeling and Hospital Revenue, Expense, and Volume Indicators

Abstract

Background. Pharmacy departments are often considered expense centers rather than potentially improving hospital revenue with increased personnel. However, contemporary pharmacy practice models can translate to improved hospital financial health. The aim of this study was to evaluate pharmacy staffing level in relation to hospital and pharmacy financial metrics. Methods. This national study was conducted at CommonSpirit Health, a large, national, not-for-profit health-system with over 140 acute-care hospitals across 24 states. Centralized databases provided organizational and financial indicator data. Correlation between pharmacy staffing and financial metrics were compared using univariate analyses and multivariable linear regression. Results. Ninety-one to 97 hospitals contributed data annually to the database from 2023-25. Data from 2025 was normalized for the entire calendar year. Most hospitals were non-critical access hospitals (76%) with annualized visits between 2,000-10,000 per year (38%). Pharmacy staffing hours demonstrated a statistically significant positive correlation with hospital contribution margin, pharmacy non-separately reimbursable drug spend, and total drug spend (p < 0.001, all). Using multivariable linear regression, pharmacy staffing hours demonstrated a statistically significant positive association with all three dependent variables adjusting for health system region, critical access hospital, number of visits, and fiscal year. Conclusion. This study demonstrated a positive correlation between inpatient pharmacy staffing hours and hospital total contribution margin despite a concurrent increase in drug expenditures. Further investigations are warranted to evaluate the impact of clinical and operational workflows, pharmacist-technician ratios, and pharmacist-patient ratios on hospital financial performance