Individual drug evaluation services in a medical center

Ms Chao finishes up a case study of clinical drug evaluation service. Then she explains some professional pharmacy services in a teaching medical center.

Key concepts

Collaborative clinics:

Physicians have very heavy workloads. In collaborative clinics, pharmacists can assist physicians to provide drug information and patient education to share physician’s workload, it also allows physicians to consult pharmacists immediately.

Pharmacist clinics (this will be discussed in another section).

Drug information services

Pharmacists need to provide medical databases, such as Lexi-Comp and Micromedex, electronic textbooks, and journals for other healthcare staff. They also need to edit and update the hospital formulary regularly, publishing them in different forms (website, leaflet, applications).

This service also includes frequent academic activities, such as academic seminars, problem-based learning workshops, and other lectures. Inter-hospital cases conference forums and regular academic meetings are held weekly. In these academic activities, clinical pharmacists present updated drug information and treatment guidelines to medical staff.

Share and learn:

• Have you ever attended an education seminar/lecture given by a clinical pharmacist before? If you have, please share your experiences.

• Are there pharmacist clinics in your country?