Drug Topics - February 25, 2008 - (Page 5)

5 Of Interest to Pharmacists Clinical pharmacists advance into all areas of medical treatment Martin Sipkoff omestead Hospital is a small community facility near Miami with about 120 beds. Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D., part of a huge health system stretching from North Dakota to Nebraska, is five times larger. The two hospitals have this in common: Both are recent recipients of national awards for quality care. And in both hospitals, the awards would not have happened without staff pharmacists being assertively involved in direct patient care, say facility administrators, the awarding organizations, and the pharmacists themselves. “Despite our size, we participate in rounds and the development of protocols,” said Marie-Elsie Ade, Pharm.D., director of pharmacy at Homestead, which recently received a pay-for-performance award as part of a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services demonstration project. “Our physicians recognize we are more familiar with formulary design and new medications.” “We are committed to strong collaborative efforts between our pharmacy staff and other medical personnel,” said Steve Petersen, Pharm.D., director of pharmacy at Avera McKennan, a recipient of several 2007 Awards for Quality from the healthcare alliance Premier Inc. “That commitment begins with how we, as pharmacists, see ourselves. We believe we are part of a medical team. That is our professional commitment. So, as a result, we are.” H plan data mining software, counseling patients, and holding other professionals accountable for the quality of care they deliver. Emerging roles These emerging roles are driving an expansion of the definition of the term “clinical pharmacist.” The American College of Clinical Pharmacy now defines clinical pharmacy quite simply as “that area of pharmacy concerned with the science and practice of rational medication use,” adding clinical pharmacists assume responsibility and accountability for managing medication therapy in direct patient care settings, whether practicing independently or in consultation/collaboration with other healthcare professionals. Clinical pharmacist researchers generate, disseminate, and apply new knowledge that contributes to improved health and quality of life. That includes practice by community pharmacists with R.Ph. degrees, not just Pharm.D.s. “Clinical pharmacists are moving from institutional settings into other settings, even private practice. It marks an evolution in the attitudes of physicians, patients, and payers,” said C. Edwin Webb, Pharm.D., ACCP director of government and professional affairs. Kamakshi Rao, Pharm.D., is a University of North Carolina Hospital clinical pharmacist specializing in oncology. She works in ambulatory cancer treatment centers. “Gaining recognition as a provider has taken time,” she said. “But I find that more all the time, I am heard among my colleagues. My years of training are increasingly appreciated, in part because I know what I have to offer.” That self-image—and the recognition as patient care providers it in turn creates—marks an advance for the profession, and it’s taken some time to achieve. “It has been a long and sometimes difficult process to get to the current level of recognition as providers of care,” said Webb. DT CAPSULE The definition of clinical pharmacy is expanding as the profession moves into patient care. Increasingly, in health systems across the country— and in community pharmacies, doctors’ offices, oncology clinics, even in health plans and pharmacy benefit management companies—pharmacists are serving as patient care providers. That means managing medications, not just dispensing drugs. It means intervening in patient care as needed, developing treatment protocols and health

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Contents Top 200 OTCs/HBCs in 2007 Clinical Pharmacists Advance into All Areas of Medical Treatment New Products Latest News Roundup

Drug Topics - February 25, 2008

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