Abstract
In a recent IJHPR article, Schwartzberg and colleagues report on clinical and other specialty services offered by pharmacists in the community in Israel and in the international arena. The article covers examples of activities recently introduced due to legislative changes which expanded the pharmacist’s scope of practice, along with obstacles that are serving to slow broader expansion and availability of these services. This commentary details the success of clinical pharmacy services being provided by the United States Veterans Health Administration, and offers a framework of elements that support clinical pharmacy practice expansion.
Highlights
In a recent IJHPR article, Schwartzberg and colleagues report on clinical and other specialty services offered by pharmacists in the community in Israel and in the international arena
In the Veterans health administration (VHA), Clinical Pharmacists (CP) deliver their care under policy authority known as a Scope of Practice (SOP) which reflects an authorization to perform as an advanced practice providers (APP) with the ability to autonomously and collaboratively manage all facets of a patient’s disease, condition, and medications [9]
This process mirrors that used for physicians with oversight by the medical staff. This lends itself to a robust process by which oversight of the practice, namely through an Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations (OPPE) system, assures the highquality care provided by the CP
Summary
In a recent IJHPR article, Schwartzberg and colleagues report on clinical and other specialty services offered by pharmacists in the community in Israel and in the international arena. Several studies, including meta-analyses, indicate CPs deliver equivalent, or in some cases (e.g., anticoagulation) superior, medication management services to patients when compared to other types of healthcare providers [1,2,3,4,5,6]. * Correspondence: Anthony.Morreale@va.gov Department of Veterans Affairs, Clinical Pharmacy Practice Office, Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) Services, Washington D.C, USA
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