Clinical Pharmacist Importance

Need and Importance of Clinical Pharmacists in Healthcare System

INTRODUCTION

According American College of Clinical Pharmacy, clinical pharmacists are described as a personnel who work directly with doctors, other health professionals and patients to ensure that the medications prescribed for patients contribute the best possible health outcomes. Clinical pharmacists practice in health care settings where they have frequent and regular interactions with doctors and other health professionals which lead to an outcome of better coordination of care.

Clinical pharmacists have received adequate education and training to work in direct patient care environments, including hospitals, clinics and other health care settings. They collaborate together

Clinical pharmacist help to assess patient’s health problem and determine whether the given medications or therapy are meeting the goal of care. They also give advice to other healthcare providers such as physicians or physiotherapist in managing the patients’ symptoms. They can support the health care team’s effort and assist in management of a variety of diseases states, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, anticoagulation therapy and also

During this process, a clinical pharmacist met with intervention group patients during all schedule visits to evaluate their drug regimens and make recommendations to them. The outcome measures were prescribing appropriateness, health-related quality of life, adverse drug events, medication compliance and knowledge, number of medications, patient satisfaction, and physician receptivity. As a result, this study demonstrated that a clinical pharmacist providing pharmaceutical care for elderly primary care patients can reduce inappropriate prescribing and possibly adverse drug effects without adversely affecting health related quality of life.

CONCLUSION

Clinical pharmacists definitely play an important role in healthcare settings. They work with other health professionals to provide high quality patient-centred care. They have specialized knowledge on medications and no other health care providers can ever replace them. With the presence of clinical pharmacists, patients’ quality of life will be improved dramatically, with the reduction in cost for hospitalization. Therefore clinical pharmacist is irreplaceable and should be appreciated by