Clinical pharmacy services in a London hospital, have they changed?

Background: The development of clinical pharmacy, has created a need for pharmacists to demonstrate the service they provide to hospital boards.

Objectives: To describe and compare the type and frequency of clinical pharmacy contributions to individual patients admitted to a large teaching hospital within a 1 week study period over four consecutive years 2009-2012.

Method: This study was a prospective 1 week study over 4 years (2009-2012). Pharmacists used data collection sheets to record the primary reason and outcome of interventions made.

Results: The most frequent reasons for pharmacists intervening in patient care have been due to efficacy of medication and for safety to prevent an adverse drug reaction. The percentage of accepted interventions by the medical team was similar ranging from 85 to 92 %.

Conclusions: Pharmacists consistently carried out interventions to patient care over a 4 year period and provide the Trust with a service that focuses on ensuring safety and efficacy of the medications administered. Impact of findings on practice Daily clinical pharmacy services in a UK teaching hospital allow pharmacists to contribute to protecting patients from the adverse effects of medications. Pharmacists most frequently intervene to patient care for the reasons of medication efficacy and safety and to prevent adverse drug reactions.