Development of Clinical Pharmacy services at King Khalid University Hospital and its impact on the quality of healthcare provided

Abdulaziz A Saddique

Development of Clinical Pharmacy services at King Khalid University Hospital and its impact on the quality of healthcare provided

Abdulaziz A Saddique

King Saud University Hospitals, Saudi Arabia

: J Pharm Drug Deliv Res

Abstract

Clinical Pharmacy is a unique service provided by the leading pharmacy departments in the United States. The concept of Clinical Pharmacy evolved after the significant increase in number of pharmaceuticals in the market and the increasing potential of drug interactions. However, the Clinical Pharmacist is not merely an individual who advises on the drug interactions. There are number of functions which include but not limited to; design of appropriate drug therapy, Pharmacokinetics assessment and evaluation to optimize drug therapy, drug information dissemination to the physicians and other healthcare providers and participate as toxicology consultant in Poison management. At King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH) the first Clinical Pharmacy services program began in 1983. This paper will demonstrate the challenges that we faced within developing Clinical Pharmacy Services for the first time in the Middle East, it will also address the difficulties that we have faced in dealing with multinational Medical staff which is mounted to more than 27 different nationalities most of which have never heard about Clinical Pharmacy. One of the most difficult tasks was to measure the impact of Clinical Pharmacy at the time of the study. Therefore, we have developed a system to evaluate the impact of our Clinical Pharmacy program on the patients' care as well as its perception by the Medical staff. Our Clinical Pharmacists were asked to record any suggestions or interventions in the form. The forms were all collected at the end of each day and entered into a database for analysis. Each intervention was analyzed in order to assess the merit of the action in terms of the therapeutic, financial and direct cost impact. The study showed a positive impact on the patients' care as well as on the economy of drugs prescribing. Meanwhile, the service was very much appreciated by the Medical staff as well as other healthcare providers.