Hospital pharmacy

Hospital Pharmacy is a specialized field of pharmacy that is integrated into the care of a medical facility, which includes hospital, nursing home, clinic, and other types of health institutions. Hospital pharmacies usually stock a larger range of medications, including more specialized and investigational medications, than would be feasible in the community setting.

Overview

Hospital pharmacies provide a vast quantity of medications per day which are distributed throughout the hospital. This can often be a complex process, as many treatments are tailored to the individual patient. Hospital pharmacists and trained pharmacy technicians compound sterile products for patients including total parenteral nutrition (TPN), and other medications such as intravenous medications. Pharmacists provide direct patient care services that optimize the use of medication and promotes health, wellness, and disease prevention.

Roles and Responsibilities

Hospital pharmacists perform a variety of tasks vital to the running of the hospital. These tasks include:

• Drug therapy monitoring
• Patient counseling
• Provision of drug information
• Making sterile and non-sterile preparations
• Clinical trial participation
• Involvement in health and teaching rounds
• Kinetic evaluations

Clinical Pharmacy

In the clinical setting, hospital pharmacists often work alongside other healthcare professionals to ensure that the medication regimen is as effective as possible and causes the least amount of side effects. They may also be involved in deciding on the best form of drug therapy for a patient and provide medication counseling to patients to improve pharmaceutical care and health outcomes.

Hospital Pharmacy Practice

Hospital pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing medications, and it also includes more modern services related to health care, including clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy, and providing drug information.

See Also

• Pharmacy
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Pharmacology
• Drug Therapy

References

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  A pharmacist working in a hospital pharmacy

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  Telelift station in a hospital pharmacy