Interdisciplinary team work to make pharmacist clinics work

Setting up the pharmacist clinic requires support from other sectors and disciplines. Ms Wung will explain the necessary cooperative relationships to establish.

Key concepts

Support from local institutions:

• Physician/nurse

• Laboratory

• Information technology

• Clerical/business support

An example of anticoagulation clinics:

The target patient group comes from 3 departments, atrial fibrillation patients from the cardiology department, patients with valve replacements from the cardiovascular surgery department, and patients with cardioembolic stroke from stroke and the neurovascular center.

TVGH pharmacists form a cooperative relationship with physicians and nurses so that physicians are more comfortable referring patients to pharmacist clinics.

Invitation cards or brochures are necessary for referrals. It must contain information about the location of anticoagulation clinics and the physician note, which informs physicians about the patient’s medication record. Lastly, a brief introduction of the services offered at the clinic.

There are 3 important things to consider for laboratory support. The first would be laboratory turnaround time. How often do they perform the tests you require? How urgently do you need this data? Second, should the clinic invest in a point-of-service clinic? Is there enough budget, manpower, etc. to invest in one? Lastly, how is the data recorded and presented?

Share and learn:

• Besides laboratories in hospitals, where else can pharmacist clinics get laboratory support?

• Do pharmacist clinics in your country rely solely on physician referrals?