Abstract
Background Pharmacist-led care services within the hospital pharmacy setting have a significant impact on efficient drug management processes. The work of pharmacists is directly associated with the provision of drugs and medical supplies along with additional clinical, administrative, organizational and educational duties. Depending on the country, these practice roles may differ to a significant extent. Objective The aim of this research was to explore the role of the hospital pharmacist and the provision of both clinical and traditional pharmaceutical services for patients and medical staff in Polish general hospitals. Setting Hospital pharmacies from all general hospitals in Poland. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted, utilizing an anonymous questionnaire as the research instrument. Heads of hospital pharmacies were requested to participate in this study and complete the questionnaire. The survey was initially piloted to improve the research method. Main outcome measure The types of pharmaceutical services performed in Polish general hospitals. Results 166 hospital pharmacies took part in this survey. The overall response rate was 60.8 %. The total number of full-time equivalent (FTE) professionals employed within the surveyed hospital pharmacies was approximately 833. The procurement and distribution of drugs were identified as pharmaceutical services performed by most of the participants. The significant majority of pharmacists were also involved in compounding, adverse drug reaction monitoring and rational drug management services. Eleven (7 %) of the responding pharmacists had direct contact with patients and 7 (4 %) pharmacists took part in ward rounds. More precise legal regulations regarding hospital pharmacy practice were measures indicated by most pharmacists as necessary changes required in the hospital pharmacy system. Conclusion Polish hospital pharmacists provide various pharmaceutical services. Their work is closely related with direct provision of drugs. There is an observed inadequate level of clinical services provided in comparison to clinical settings in other countries.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11096-015-0234-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Background Pharmacist-led care services within the hospital pharmacy setting have a significant impact on efficient drug management processes
The majority of the pharmaceutical services provided by hospitals pharmacists are directly associated with medicines, their production, procurement, distribution and storage
The pharmacists are not the direct subjects of this study, as we have only examined their opinions on current hospital pharmacy practice
Summary
Pharmacist-led care services within the hospital pharmacy setting have a significant impact on efficient drug management processes. According to the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), the fundamental role of the hospital pharmacy service is to ‘‘optimize patient outcomes, by collaboratively working within multidisciplinary teams in order to achieve responsible use of medicines’’ [1]. According to the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy, the clinical pharmacist is responsible for performing activities focusing on the promotion of rational and appropriate use of medicinal products and devices [3]. The services provided by hospital pharmacy pertain to the use of pharmacotherapy, and involve drug supply, compounding, clinical activities, patient safety, administrative duties, education as well as scientific research. A significant number of pharmacists were actively involved in the compounding of medicines, collaborating in drug management processes at the hospital as well as participating in clinical trials. These practice roles may differ to a significant extent
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