Finding Medicines in Busy Pharmacies Takes Longer Than Expected
Last updated
Many pharmacy staff spend valuable time searching shelves and storage boxes to locate medicines, especially in busy pharmacies with large inventories. Customers often wait in long queues while staff manually look for the required medicines.
Situation
In many pharmacies, staff receive a prescription and then manually search through shelves, drawers, or storage boxes to locate each medicine. During busy hours, this process can slow customer service and increase waiting times. Even experienced staff may spend extra time locating medicines when inventory is large or storage layouts become crowded.
Who is affected
Pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, patients, caregivers, healthcare facilities, and customers waiting in queues.
How often
Reported as a regular experience. This has not been measured.
Root cause
Medicine inventories often grow over time, while storage systems remain largely manual. Similar packaging, changing stock locations, and large product ranges make medicines harder to locate quickly.
Current workaround
Experienced staff rely on memory, organise shelves manually, label storage areas, or ask colleagues for assistance when medicines cannot be found immediately.
Opportunity for improvement
This friction presents opportunities for better inventory organisation, faster medicine search systems, and workflows that reduce waiting time for both pharmacy staff and customers.
Friction Journal observation
A patient waiting for medicine is often already worried about their health. Even a small reduction in search time can improve both workflow and the customer experience.
About this record
Status: Initial observation. Based on lived experience, not a verified study. This record may be updated as evidence is checked.
Impact: Low. A minor annoyance.
- Sources consulted
- Personal observation and everyday experience.
- Last updated
- Cite this record
- Friction Journal. “Finding Medicines in Busy Pharmacies Takes Longer Than Expected.” FJ-000041. Last updated 22 October 2026. https://frictionjournal.com/frictions/fj-000041/