8,930 Hours Saved at UCLA Health
How UCLA Health used AI-assisted drug information to clear its P&T queue and move pharmacists into education, stewardship and system leadership.
8,930hours saved, equal to 4.3 FTE 840inquiries answered in one year 170+P&T reviews, queue cleared 70+active users across all settings Introduction
UCLA Health partnered with InpharmD to redirect time-consuming drug information work away from its pharmacists. From April 2025 to April 2026, InpharmD handled 840 inquiries and saved an estimated 8,930 hours, and UCLA Health turned that time into new roles.
The Challenge
UCLA Health runs 5 hospitals, 270+ clinics and 21 infusion centers, with 787k+ unique patient visits and 38k+ inpatient stays a year. After restructuring pharmacy leadership, the goal was to sustain excellence in a constrained financial environment. The pharmacy quality team, two drug information PharmDs, an MSO, a medication safety PharmD and one analyst, needed to:
- Redirect time-consuming manual work
- Free PharmDs to focus on higher-level work and system priorities
- Optimize drug information support for frontline staff
- Align work to top-of-license practice
The Solution
InpharmD works alongside the UCLA Health Drug Information Center in three steps: evidence identification with rapid literature search across databases, structured summaries that synthesize trials and guidelines, and pharmacist review for clinical accuracy before anything goes back.
What an InpharmD Answer Looks Like
A PharmD-written summary, the literature review, the level of evidence and a full reference list for validation.Questions come from every setting, for example evidence for albumin in neurosurgery or ICH patients, Actemra doses above 800 mg IV, or GLP-1 agonist safety with a preexisting pancreatic cyst.
Results
P&T class reviews and monographs were only a fifth of the requests but accounted for most of the hours saved.
661Drug information questions (78%)
179P&T reviews and monographs (21%)
9Projects (1%)
4.3 FTEPharmacist time saved
Estimated Hours Saved by Request Type
P&T class reviews and monographs~7,160 hrs
Drug information questions~1,320 hrs
Projects (MFR forms, temperature excursions, stability)~450 hrs
Estimated Time per Task
Drug information questions~10 hrs
Compounding instructions, temperature excursions, beyond-use dating, tablet splitting~2 hrs each
Detailed Impact
| Before | Now |
|---|
| 1 drug information PharmD | Education program coordinator and PGY1 RPD |
| 1 drug information PharmD | Clinical stewardship focus |
| 1 PharmD MSO, RPD and student program | System medication safety officer |
| Limited drug information support | 70+ active users across all settings |
| P&T review backlog | 170+ P&T reviews, queue cleared |
Key Takeaways
- 8,930 hours of manual work absorbed in one year
- Three pharmacists moved into higher-impact roles
- P&T queue cleared with 170+ reviews
- Pharmacist oversight on every AI-assisted answer
- Drug information support expanded to 70+ users
What's Next
UCLA Health sees further value in a searchable database of verified temperature excursion parameters, timely manufacturer follow-up, bedside drug information support for specific care decisions, and a faster-response option for patient care.
About UCLA Health
UCLA Health operates 5 hospitals and 270+ clinics with 21 infusion centers. Results were presented by Karen V. Youmbi, PharmD, at the UC Pharmacy Conference 2026.