Abstract
Pharmacists in UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals have a long tradition of involvement in the development of drug policy. This paper describes various approaches that have been employed in the development and implementation of drug policy in hospitals and examines the evidence for their effectiveness and acceptability in the context of a changing health service. A series of focused interviews was conducted with a range of staff, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and managers at eight hospitals. Interview sites were selected on the basis of a national survey of clinical pharmacy roles and were broadly representative of UK NHS hospitals. Interview data were analysed using constant comparison and analytic induction. Three models used in the development of drug policy were identified: a 'traditional' model, in which a drug and therapeutics committee establishes a hospital-wide formulary which is implemented by pharmacists; a 'combined' model, in which there is much more emphasis on tailoring policies and feedback to specialties or clinical directorates; and a 'medical control' model, in which prescribing decisions are made by individual doctors without reference to explicit policies and with little active pharmacy involvement. Pharmacy involvement was seen as vital to the development of effective policies but hospital-specific factors influenced the choice of model at particular sites. Hospitals may be moving towards the 'combined' model which could have advantages in the current internal market within the NHS. However, evaluations of the various approaches to drug policy should help inform this decision.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.