Clinical Pharmacy Services Research Articles

Pediatric oncology services in Nepal: A special focus on pharmacy practice.

The role of clinical pharmacists or oncology pharmacists in pediatric oncology has been established as important in anticancer regimen review, dose calculation, recommendation, chemocounseling, identification of drug-related problems, its resolution, and, prevention and monitoring of adverse drug reactions within high-income countries. With several hospitals providing pediatric oncology services in Nepal, clinical pharmacist involvement in these hospitals is very poor. Upon reviewing the reputed organization and association focused on pediatric oncology pharmacy practice, it looks imperative for Nepal to initiate clinical pharmacy services which will further help in improving patient health outcomes. As such in this commentary, we try to accentuate the pediatric oncology services and pediatric pharmacy practice within Nepal and try to pinpoint the potential areas for clinical pharmacists to focus if they intend to provide services in pediatric oncology pharmacy practice.

The Role of Telepharmacy in the Delivery of Clinical Pharmacy Services Following the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Report.

Background: Telepharmacy, which utilizes telecommunication technology to provide pharmaceutical care remotely, has gained significance in expanding access to pharmacists, particularly in areas with limited health care facility access. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its restrictions on in-person interactions, underscored the importance of telepharmacy in ensuring continuity of care. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the impact of telepharmacy on the delivery of clinical pharmacy services before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study explores the use of telepharmacy in delivering medication therapy management (MTM), chronic disease management (CDM), chronic opioid analgesic therapy (COAT), and transitions of care (TCM) visits. Data from electronic health records (EHRs) was collected to analyze the number referrals, number and type of visits, mode of visits, and locations served using correlations and descriptive statistics. Results: The findings indicate an increase in the number of referrals and visits following the pandemic, with a shift toward telepharmacy visits. The study highlights the convenience and accessibility provided by telepharmacy, resulting in improved patient access to clinical pharmacy services at 1 Midwest health system following the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: The continued use of telepharmacy is important to ensure that patients, especially those in rural locations, have access to health care services and can be a positive factor in growing clinical pharmacy services.

Impact of Clinical Pharmacist-conducted Medication Reconciliation at Admission and Discharge on Medication Safety in Patients Hospitalized with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure.

Most studies have focused on the impact of medication reconciliation on one of the points of hospital admission or discharge. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of medication reconciliation at both admission and discharge on medication safety in patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure. This was a prospective, single-center, cohort study conducted in a tertiary care cardiovascular hospital from October 2022 to March 2023 on patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure. Patients were considered eligible if they were taking at least five chronic medications prior to hospital admission. Medication reconciliation was carried out for the study patients by a clinical pharmacy team both at admission and discharge. Further, the study patients also received comprehensive discharge counseling as well as post-discharge follow-up and monitoring. Medication reconciliation was applied for 129 patients at admission and 118 of them at discharge. The mean time needed for medication reconciliation presses was 32 min per patient on admission and 22min per patient on discharge. Unintentional medication discrepancies were relatively common both at admission and discharge in the study participants, but compared to admission, discrepancies were less frequent at discharge (178 versus 72). Based on the consensus review, about 30% of identified errors detected at both admission and discharge were judged to have the potential to cause moderate to severe harm to the patient, and most of the clinical pharmacists' recommendations on unintended discrepancies were accepted by physicians and resulted in changes in medication orders (more than 80%). Further, the majority of the participants were 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with the clinical pharmacy services provided to them during hospitalization and after hospital discharge (89.90%). Our results demonstrated that heart failure patients are vulnerable to medication discrepancies both at admission and discharge and implementing a comprehensive medication reconciliation by clinical pharmacists could be helpful in improving medication safety in these patients.

ANALISIS PELAYANAN BIDANG FARMASI MENGGUNAKAN INDIKATOR LAYANAN BERBASIS WHO: TINJAUAN SISTEMATIS

Pharmaceutical services in hospitals are an inseparable part of the hospital's health service system that is oriented towards patient service, the provision of quality and affordable pharmaceutical preparations, medical devices, and consumables for all levels of society including clinical pharmacy services. The purpose of this study is to systematically review the implementation of pharmaceutical services based on WHO indicators. The articles used were selected from the Google Scholar journal database published from January 2013 to December 2023. Keywords for the study included "service" or "pharmaceutical" or "pharmacy" or "indicator" or "hospital" or "WHO". A total of 476 articles were generated from the initial search, the author identified 8 articles on pharmaceutical services based on WHO indicators. Based on a systematic review, most hospitals have implemented pharmaceutical services based on WHO indicators. Based on a systematic review, the implementation of pharmaceutical services in accordance with WHO standards is the selection stage: conformity with the hospital formulary; procurement: frequency of procurement of each drug item annually and on an EOQ basis; distribution: the degree of availability of the drug; Usage: percentage of generic prescriptions, percentage of drugs delivered, percentage of drugs labeled complete and average time spent serving prescriptions.

Development of service standards and manpower calculation criteria for hospital clinical pharmacies in South Korea: a survey-based study

BackgroundAfter the revision of the Korean Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, the certification of specialized pharmacists is scheduled to be legally recognized in 2023. Considering that the specialized pharmacist certification was developed based on the working model of hospital clinical pharmacists, it is necessary to establish standards for clinical pharmacists in hospitals and to calculate appropriate manpower. Through this study, we aim to establish practical standards for clinical pharmacists and propose a method for calculating staffing levels based on an investigation of actual workloads.MethodsThis survey-based study consisted of two phases. In the first phase, a literature review was conducted to establish standards for clinical pharmacy services, and tasks in relevant literature were classified to identify clinical pharmacy service tasks that are applicable to the practice of Korean hospitals. Additionally, a preliminary survey was conducted to investigate the essential tasks. In the second phase of the investigation, a multicenter survey was conducted targeting pharmacists in facilities with more than 1,000 beds to explore their perceptions and actual workloads related to tasks.ResultsAccording to the standards for clinical pharmacists in Korea, clinical pharmacy services consist of a total of 23 tasks, of which 16 have been identified as essential tasks. Essential tasks accounted for 93% of the total tasks in clinical pharmacy services. The average full-time equivalent (FTE) through workload calculation was 2.5 ± 1.9 for each field, while the FTE allocated to actual practice was 2.1 ± 1.6. The distribution of each type of clinical pharmacy service was as follows: 77% for medication therapy management, 13% for medication education, 8% for multidisciplinary team activities, and 3% for medication use evaluation.ConclusionThis study identified essential tasks common to clinical pharmacy services across different healthcare institutions. However, the FTE of clinical pharmacists in actual practice was insufficient compared to the required amount. In order to establish and expand clinical pharmacy services in a hospital, it is necessary to ensure an adequate workforce for essential tasks.

Defining quality indicators, pharmaceutical care bundles and outcomes of clinical pharmacy service delivery using a Delphi consensus approach.

Clinical pharmacy quality indicators are often non-uniform and measure individual activities not linked to outcomes. To define a consensus agreed pharmaceutical care bundle and patient outcome measures across an entire state health service. A four-round modified-Delphi approach with state Directors of Pharmacy was performed (n = 25). They were asked to rate on a 5-point Likert scale the relevance and measurability of 32 inpatient clinical pharmacy quality indicators and outcome measures. They also ranked clinical pharmacy activities in order from perceived most to least beneficial. Based upon these results, pharmaceutical care bundles consisting of multiple clinical pharmacy activities were formed, and relevance and measurability assessed. Response rate ranged from 40 to 60%. Twenty-six individual clinical pharmacy quality indicators reached consensus. The top ranked clinical pharmacy quality indicator was 'proportion of patients where a pharmacist documents an accurate list of medicines during admission'. There were nine pharmaceutical care bundles formed consisting between 3 and 7 activities. Only one pharmaceutical care bundle reached consensus: medication history, adverse drug reaction/allergy documentation, admission and discharge medication reconciliation, medication review, provision of medicines education and provision of a medication list on discharge. Sixteen outcome measures reached consensus. The top ranked were hospital acquired complications, readmission due to medication misadventure and unplanned readmission within 10 days. Consensus has been reached on one pharmaceutical care bundle and sixteen outcomes to monitor clinical pharmacy service delivery. The next step is to measure the extent of pharmaceutical care bundle delivery and the link to patient outcomes.

Integration of Clinical Pharmacy Services in Primary Healthcare in the United Arab Emirates: Indicators and Impacts

Integration of Clinical Pharmacy Services in Primary Healthcare in the United Arab Emirates: Indicators and Impacts

Prioritizing Quality over Quantity: Defining Optimal Pharmacist-to-Patient Ratios to Ensure Comprehensive Direct Patient Care in a Medical or Surgical Unit.

The expanding scope of practice of hospital pharmacists has contributed to improvements in patient care; however, workload remains a barrier to the provision of optimal pharmaceutical care. Established ratios to guide clinical pharmacy staffing on medical and surgical units are lacking in Canada. To determine the pharmacist-to-patient ratio that allows for provision of comprehensive pharmaceutical care to each patient on a medical or surgical unit and to determine which comprehensive care tasks can be delivered in settings where staffing is limited. A multiphase study was conducted in 6 hospitals. First, a modified Delphi study was conducted to define and prioritize the elements of comprehensive pharmaceutical care. Next, a work sampling study was conducted to establish the frequency of each task and the time required for completion. Finally, a workforce calculator was used to determine pharmacy staffing ratios. Ten pharmacists participated in the modified Delphi study, and 31 participated in the work sampling study. A total of 15 comprehensive care tasks were identified, 7 of which were categorized as tasks to prioritize in settings where staffing is limited. The optimal staffing ratios were 1 pharmacist to 13 patients in internal medicine teaching units, 1 pharmacist to 26 patients in hospitalist or internal medicine nonteaching units, and 1 pharmacist to 14 patients in surgical units. The optimal staffing ratios determined in this study should enable pharmacists to provide comprehensive care to each patient. Implementing these staffing ratios could increase the consistency of clinical pharmacy services, improve patient outcomes, and improve pharmacists' work satisfaction. Further research is required to validate these ratios in a variety of settings.

Clinical pharmacy services in cancer patients with hypertension

Abstract Clinical pharmacy services aim to ensure the rational use of drugs and resolve disease/health conditions with a multidisciplinary approach. Pharmaceutical care plans need to be created to effectively provide clinical pharmacy services in the treatment of hypertension which is one of the common chronic diseases in cancer patients. In this mini-review, we examine which drugs can cause or worsen hypertension in patients receiving cancer treatment, potential drug-drug interactions between drugs used in cancer treatment and antihypertensive drugs, pharmacological and clinical studies for the treatment of hypertension in patients with hypertension before cancer diagnosis or newly diagnosed hypertension due to cancer treatment. Non-pharmacological treatment approaches are presented. We think that our study will be a resource that can be used to solve possible drug-related problems in the practice.

Clinical Pharmacy Services in Canadian Emergency Departments: A 2022 National Survey.

Support for the role of an emergency department (ED) clinical pharmacy team is evidence-based and recognized in numerous professional guidelines, yet previous literature suggests a low prevalence of ED clinical pharmacy services in Canadian hospitals. To update (from a survey conducted in 2013) the description and quantification of clinical pharmacy services in Canadian EDs. All Canadian hospitals with an ED and at least 50 acute care beds were contacted to identify the presence of dedicated ED pharmacy services (defined as at least 0.5 full-time equivalent [FTE] position). Three separate electronic surveys were distributed by email to ED pharmacy team members (if available), pharmacy managers (at hospitals without an ED pharmacy team), and ED managers (all hospitals). The surveys were completed between November 2021 and January 2022. Of the 254 hospitals identified, 117 (46%) had at least 0.5 FTE clinical pharmacy services in the ED (based on initial telephone screening). Of the 51 (44%) of 115 ED pharmacy team survey responses included in the analysis, 94% (48/51) had pharmacists and 55% (28/51) had pharmacy technicians. The majority of pharmacy managers and ED managers identified the need for ED pharmacy services where such services did not exist. Inadequate funding, competing priorities, and lack of training remain the most commonly reported barriers to providing this service. Personal safety concerns were reported by 20% (10/51) of respondents. Although the establishment of clinical pharmacy services in Canadian EDs has grown over the past 8 years, lack of funding and ED-specific training continue to limit this evidence-supported role in Canadian hospitals.

Around 45% of hospital emergency departments have a clinical pharmacy service, MPs told

Around 45% of hospital emergency departments have a clinical pharmacy service, MPs told

A Nomogram for Predicting the Effectiveness of Consultations on Multi-Drug Resistant Infections: An Exploration for Clinical Pharmacy Services.

The increasing multi-drug resistance (MDR) is a serious threat to human health. The appropriate use of antibiotics can control the progression of MDR and clinical pharmacists play an important role in the rational use of antibiotics. There are many factors that influence the effectiveness of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) infection consultations. The study aimed to establish a model to predict the outcome of consultation and explore ways to improve clinical pharmacy services. Patients diagnosed with MDRO infection and consulted by clinical pharmacists were included. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to identify independent risk factors for MDRO infection consultation effectiveness, and then a nomogram was constructed and validated. 198 patients were finally included. The number of underlying diseases (OR=1.720, 95% CI: 1.260-2.348), whether surgery was performed prior to infection (OR=8.853, 95% CI: 2.668-29.373), ALB level (OR=0.885, 95% CI: 0.805~0.974), pharmacist title (OR=3.463, 95% CI: 1.277~9.396) and whether the recommendation was taken up (OR=0.117, 95% CI: 0.030~0.462) were identified as independent influences on the effectiveness of the consultation. The nomogram prediction model was successfully constructed and the AUC of the training set and the verification set were 0.849 (95% CI: 0.780-0.917) and 0.761 (95% CI: 0.616-0.907) respectively. The calibration curves exhibited good overlap between the data predicted by the model and the actual data. A nomogram model was developed to predict the risk of consultation failure and was shown to be good accuracy and good prediction efficiency, which can provide proactive interventions to improve outcomes for potentially treatment ineffective patients.

Investigating the Prevalence and Types of Clinical Services Offered by Pharmacists in Federally Qualified Health Centers in South Carolina: A Qualitative, Cross-Sectional Survey.

To investigate the prevalence and type of clinical pharmacy services offered within South Carolina Federally Qualified Health Centers (SC FQHCs) and identify existing implementation barriers. This study was a cross-sectional survey of pharmacists or Chief Medical Officers practicing in SC FQHCs. Organizations were identified utilizing the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) database and were contacted to participate in a telephone survey. An electronic form was created in REDCap® software. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze and evaluate data. Twenty-two SC FQHCs were eligible for the survey, with 16 (72.7%) participating. Of the respondents, 9 (56%) offered at least 1 service. The most common services offered were chronic disease state management, diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES), and tobacco cessation (43.8%, n = 7). The least common services offered were chronic care, Hepatitis C, and HIV management (18.9%, n = 3). The most common barriers to implementation were lack of personnel and provider interest (62.5%, n = 10). The least common barrier was a lack of pharmacist interest or time (25%, n = 4). Pharmacists offered at least 1 clinical service within most SC FQHCs. Barriers were identified that prevented expansion of services and further research is needed to overcome these.

Benefit of clinical pharmacists in neurology clinics at an academic medical center

BackgroundPatients with neurologic diseases have complex medical needs and may benefit from the addition of clinical pharmacists in their care. ObjectivesThis study aimed to describe integration and benefit of clinical pharmacists in neuroimmunology and neuromuscular clinics at an academic medical center. MethodsThis retrospective chart review evaluated patients initiated on a neurology medication for a neuroimmunology or neuromuscular disease state before and after pharmacist integration in neurology clinics. The primary outcome measured access to an initially prescribed neuroimmunology or neuromuscular medication within 90 days of prescription. Secondary outcomes included access to an initially prescribed or alternative neurology medication owing to insurance requirements within 90 days, time from initial prescription to start, and description of pharmacist involvement. ResultsThere were 101 patients in the pregroup and 101 patients in the postgroup. The percentage of patients with confirmed initially prescribed medication access at 90 days increased in the postgroup compared with the pregroup (87.1% vs. 72.5%, respectively, P = 0.014). For secondary outcomes, the percentage of patients who started on an initially prescribed or alternative neuroimmunology or neuromuscular medication within 90 days also increased in the postgroup compared with the pregroup (90.0% vs. 73.3%, respectively, P = 0.004). Additional pharmacist involvement occurred in 64 patients (63.4%) in the postgroup and included prior authorization approval assistance, drug information support, and medication liaison interventions, with an average of 4.7 pharmacist interventions at each pharmacy-led encounter. ConclusionThe addition of pharmacists into neuroimmunology and neuromuscular clinics improved operational access to medications for neuroimmunology and neuromuscular conditions. In addition, pharmacists were able to assist with multiple areas of patient care including medication education, monitoring, and serving as a medication liaison. This study supports continuing to offer clinical pharmacy services in neuroimmunology and neuromuscular departments and may support the addition of clinical pharmacists into neurology services at other institutions.

Assessment of clinical pharmacist interventions using a web-based application in a Saudi Arabian Tertiary Hospital.

Medication-related problems are a top concern of clinical pharmacists. Medication-related problems can cause patient harm and increase the number of visits, hospital admissions, and length of hospital stay. The objective was to assess clinical pharmacy medication-related problem-related interventions in a tertiary care setting. A retrospective cohort study was conducted at King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) between June 2021 and June 2022. The data were extracted monthly from a new web-based Microsoft Excel application documenting medication-related problems during any stage of the medication use process. A total of 5310 medication-related problem-related interventions in 1494 patients were performed. The departments associated with the highest frequency of medication-related problem-related interventions were the critical care unit (26.9%), intensive care unit (23.8%), anticoagulation clinic (17.1%), medical ward (11.3%), and nephrology unit (6.8%). The most common type of medication-related problem-related interventions included inappropriate dosage regimens (25.6%), monitoring drug effect or therapeutic drug monitoring (24.4%), requirement of additional drug therapy (21.9%), and inappropriate drug selection (14.1%). The proposed interventions were accepted by physicians in 97% of the incidents. The most frequent medication classes associated with medication-related problem-related interventions were cardiovascular agents (47.6%), antimicrobial agents (27.2%), and nutrition and blood substitute agents (11.4%). The most frequent medication groups associated with medication-related problem-related interventions were anticoagulants (25.6%) and antibiotics (25.2%). The current findings characterize the medication-related problem-related interventions addressed in clinical pharmacy at a tertiary care setting. The high rate of physician acceptance emphasizes the integral patient safety role of clinical pharmacy services.

Intervenção clínica do cuidado farmacêutico como indicador de qualidade da assistência hospitalar em pediatria

Objective: To determine the frequency and nature of drug-related problems in hospitalized patients of a public pediatric hospital in Fortaleza/Ce. Metodology: Cross-sectional and retrospective study from the records of pharmaceutical interventions available in the database of the clinical pharmacy service. Results: Fifty-eight patients were included in the study. A total of 75 drug-related problems were identified with a frequency of 76.2% related to safety and these involved antimicrobial drugs (45.8%). Dose adequacy (35.7%) was the most frequent pharmaceutical intervention. The acceptability profile of the interventions was 64.4% for physicians and 100% by nurses. Final considerations: By analyzing the drug-related problems and pharmaceutical interventions, it was possible to know which aspects of the pediatric patients therapy were explored in the clinical pharmacist follow-up. We emphasize the importance of documentation of clinical practice for the construction of indicators and evaluation of the quality of pharmaceutical care in pediatrics.

Interventions and impact of pharmacist-delivered services in perioperative setting on clinically important outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The perioperative arena is a unique and challenging environment that requires coordination of the complex processes and involvement of the entire care team. Pharmacists' scope of practice has been evolving to be patient-centered and to expand to variety of settings including perioperative settings. To critically appraise, synthesize, and present the available evidence of the characteristics and impact of pharmacist-led interventions on clinically important outcomes in the perioperative settings. A systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL from index inception to September 2023. Included studies compared the effectiveness of pharmacist-led interventions on clinically important outcomes (e.g. length of stay, readmission) compared to usual care in perioperative settings. Two independent reviewers extracted the data using the DEPICT-2 (Descriptive Elements of Pharmacist Intervention Characterization Tool) and undertook quality assessment using the Crowe Critical Appraisal (CCAT). A random-effect model was used to estimate the overall effect [odds ratio (OR) for dichotomous and standard mean difference (SMD) for continuous data] with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Twenty-five studies were eligible, 20 (80%) had uncontrolled study design. Most interventions were multicomponent and continuous over the perioperative period. The intervention components included clinical pharmacy services (e.g. medication management/optimization, medication reconciliation, discharge counseling) and education of healthcare professionals. While some studies provided a minor description in regards to the intervention development and processes, only one study reported a theoretical underpinning to intervention development. Pooled analyses showed a significant impact of pharmacist care compared to usual care on length of stay (11 studies; SMD -0.09; 95% CI -0.49 to -0.15) and all-cause readmissions (8 studies; OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.39-0.91). The majority of included studies (n = 21; 84%) were of moderate quality. Pharmacist-led interventions are effective at improving clinically important outcomes in the perioperative setting; however, most studies were of moderate quality. Studies lacked the utilization of theory to develop interventions; therefore, it is not clear whether theory-derived interventions are more effective than those without a theoretical element. Future research should prioritize the development and evaluation of multifaceted theory-informed pharmacist interventions that target the whole surgical care pathway.

What is impacting clinical pharmacists’ participation in an interprofessional ward round: a thematic analysis of a national survey

ABSTRACT The ward round (WR) is an important opportunity for interprofessional interaction and communication enabling optimal patient care. Pharmacists’ participation in the interprofessional WR can reduce adverse drug events and improve medication appropriateness and communication. WR participation by clinical pharmacists in Australia is currently limited. This study aims to explore what is impacting clinical pharmacists’ participation in WRs in Australian hospitals. A self-administered, anonymous national survey of Australian clinical pharmacists was conducted. This study describes the outcomes from qualitative questions which were analyzed thematically in NVivo-2020 according to Braun and Clarke’s techniques. Five themes were constructed: “Clinical pharmacy service structure”, “Ward round structure”, “Pharmacist’s capabilities”, “Culture” and “Value”. A culture supportive of pharmacist’s contribution with a consistent WR structure and flexible delivery of clinical pharmacy services enabled pharmacists’ participation in WR. Being physically “absent” from the WR due to workload, workflow, and self-perception of the need for extensive clinical knowledge can limit opportunities for pharmacists to proactively contribute to medicines decision-making with physicians to improve patient care outcomes. Bidirectional communication between the interprofessional team and the pharmacist, where there is a co-construction of each individual’s role in the WR facilitates consistent and inter-dependent collaborations for effective medication management.

Analysis of the Relationship between Tangible and Reliability with Patient Satisfaction in Level III Hospital Pharmacy Installations in Southeast Sulawesi

Backgrounds: Hospital Pharmaceutical Services are an inseparable part of the Hospital health service system which is oriented towards patient service, providing quality and affordable Pharmaceutical Preparations, Medical Devices and Consumable Medical Materials for all levels of society, including clinical pharmacy services. The results of the survey conducted in June 2021, the average tangible value was (6.70%), while the reliability value was (46.83%). The aim of this research is to analyze the relationship between Tangible and Reliability and Patient Satisfaction in Level III Hospital Pharmacy Installations in Southeast Sulawesi.
 Methods: This research is a quantitative study with a cross sectional study design. The population in this study was 314 people. The sample size was 206 people. Data was processed using the SPSS program.
 Results: Test results using the chi-square test show significance figures for five variables. Tangible variables show a value of pvalue = 0.634 > α value = 0.05 indicating there is no relationship between the service quality variable (tangible) and patient satisfaction in hospital pharmacy installations, the Reliability variable shows a significance value of Asym.sig pearson chi-square 0.004 < α value = 0.05 indicates there is a relationship between the service quality variable (Reliability) and patient satisfaction in the hospital pharmacy installation.
 Conclusion: It is necessary to improve the quality of service in order to maintain a satisfactory level of service, where the Hospital should continue to maintain conditions such as Tangible and Reliability dimensions.

The impact of Saudi Arabia – United States clinical pharmacy post-graduate training programs agreements on clinical pharmacy faculty in Saudi universities: A retrospective descriptive study focused on history and future recommendations

BackgroundThere has been a growing demand for clinical pharmacy services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in the past 3 decades. The Ministry of Education has established agreements with several institutions in the United States to secure clinical pharmacy residency and research fellowship programs opportunities for Saudi scholars. The aims of this study were to describe the Saudi scholars’ clinical pharmacy training pathways and their contribution to the pharmacy profession in KSA. MethodsThis is a retrospective, descriptive study conducted on clinical pharmacy faculty in governmental Saudi universities who graduated from the US until 2023. The study outcomes included the post-graduate year-1 (PGY-1) residency match rate, post-graduate year-2 (PGY-2) acceptance rate, the PGY-2 specialties of Saudi scholars, and the number of clinical pharmacy programs established in KSA. ResultsIn total, 115 Saudi scholars have pursued clinical pharmacy pathway in the US. The PGY-1 residency match rate was 80 % (92/115). In contrast, the PGY-2 acceptance rate was 60.9 % (70/115). The most common PGY-2 specialty was in infectious diseases (N = 17; 24 %). Two pharmacy colleges had established residency programs and 1 pharmacy college had established a research fellowship. ConclusionThe Ministry of Education's efforts for clinical pharmacy program agreements were fundamental for advancing clinical pharmacy in Saudi universities. A significant number of Saudi scholars returned to KSA with clinical pharmacy degrees. There are more opportunities for further development, including expanding the clinical pharmacy program collaboration in the US and increasing the number of residency and research fellowship positions in KSA.