Clinical pharmacist prescribing activities in the Veterans Health Administration.

Purpose: A comprehensive overview of clinical pharmacist prescribing authority and collaborative drug therapy management activities within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is presented.

Summary: In VHA terminology, "scope of practice" (SOP) denotes authorization to perform as an advanced practice provider, autonomously or collaboratively managing all facets of a patient's disease or condition; VHA clinical pharmacists with an SOP have prescribing authority. National policies outline the broad requirements for conferral of an SOP to VHA clinical pharmacists and processes for SOP development and oversight, as well as the responsibilities of facility and clinical pharmacy leaders to support the role of the clinical pharmacist within the VHA healthcare system.