CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO

HOSPITAL PHARMACY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Define Hospital, and Hospital Pharmacy.
• Determine the organizational goals of hospital
pharmacy as a department and a service
• Identify the pharmaceutical service component in
hospital pharmacy
• Acknowledge the minimum standards required to fulfill
the pharmaceutical service component in hospital
pharmacy
Hospital and Hospital Pharmacy
Hospital
The hospital is a healthcare unit which incorporates a combination
of specialized scientific equipment, and functioning through
trained and certified healthcare professionals working as a team
for the common purpose of providing medical services to the
population.
Hospital Pharmacy
Hospital Pharmacy is a department or service in a hospital,
responsible for the supply of medications to hospital wards as well
as ambulatory patients, The department is headed by
professionally competent, legally qualified pharmacist who directly
supervises and ensures the correct dispensing, compounding, and
distribution of medication to in and out-patients.
Goals of Hospital Pharmacy
1. To provide the benefits of a qualified hospital pharmacist to patients and
health care institutions, to the allied health professions, and to the
profession of pharmacy.
2. To assist in providing an adequate supply of such qualified hospital
pharmacists.
3. To assure a high quality of professional practice through the establishment
and maintenance of standards of professional ethics, education, and
attainments and through the promotion of economic welfare.
4. To promote research in hospital pharmacy practices and in the
pharmaceutical sciences in general.
5. To disseminate pharmaceutical knowledge by providing for interchange of
information among hospital pharmacists and with members of allied
specialties and professions.
Pharmaceutical Services
Components in Hospital Pharmacy
• The procurement, distribution, and control of all
pharmaceuticals used within the facility.
• The evaluation and dissemination of comprehensive
information about drugs and their use to the institutions
staff and patients.
• The monitoring, evaluation, and assurance of the
quality of drug use.
Functions of Hospital Pharmacy
Hospital
Pharmacy

Distribution Purchasing &

Statistics and Research &
Inventory Manufacturing
report Teaching
control
In patient
Bulk
manufacturing
of IV
Out patient admixtures
(LVP & SVP)
Medical & Compounding
surgical of solid and
laboratory other dosage
supplies forms

Ward & floor

stock
Minimum Standards for Hospital
Pharmacy
1. Administration
Led by a Manager, the hospital pharmacy Manager is
responsible for:
• Setting the long- and short-range goals of the
pharmacy based on developments and trends in health
care and institutional pharmacy practice and the specific
needs of the institution.
• Developing a plan and schedule for achieving these
goals.• Supervising the implementation of the plan and
the day-to- day activities associated with it.
• Determining if the goals and schedule are being met
and instituting corrective actions where necessary.
2. Facilities
• Location must provides accessible services to patients.
• Space and equipment provide secure and
environmentally controlled storage of drugs.
• There shall be designated space and equipment
suitable for the preparation of sterile products and other
drug compounding and packaging operations.
• The pharmacy should have a private area for
pharmacist- patient consultations with private office to
the director.
• Current drug information resources must be available..
3. Drug Distribution and Control
The pharmacy shall be responsible for the procurement,
distribution, and control of all drugs used within the
institution.
• This responsibility extends to drugs and related
services provided to ambulatory patients.
• Policies and procedures governing these functions shall
be developed by the pharmacist with input from other
involved hospital staff and committees ..
4. Drug Information
• The pharmacy is responsible for providing the
institutions staff and patients with accurate,
comprehensive information about drugs and their use
and shall serve as its center for drug information .
5. Assuring Rational Drug Therapy
• An important aspect of pharmaceutical services is that
of maximizing rational drug use.
• In this regard, the pharmacist, in concert with the
medical staff, must develop policies and procedures for
assuring the quality of drug therapy..
5. Research
• The pharmacist should conduct, participate in, and
support medical and pharmaceutical research
appropriate to the goals, objectives, and resources of the
pharmacy and the institution.
HIERARCHY OF HOSPITAL PHARMACY
Pharmacy Manager
Pharmacy In-charge/Supervisor
Assistant Pharmacy
In-charge/Supervisor

Pharmacist
Pharmacy Technician

In patient Out patient Clinical DIC

Compounding Clinic
Role & Responsibilities of
Pharmacist
Central dispensing area:

1. To ensure that all drugs are stored and dispensed correctly.

2. To check the accuracy of the dosages prepared.
3. Maintain proper records
4. Preparation of bills
5. Co-ordinate over all pharmaceutical needs of the patient
6. Framed policies and procedures are followed
7. Maintain professional competence
8. communicate with all pharmacy staffs
b) Patient care areas
1. Maintain liaison with nurses
2. Reviewing of drug administration
3. Provide instruction and assistance to the junior pharmacist

c) Direct patient areas:

1. Identification of drugs brought into the hospital
2. Obtaining patients medication history
3. Assist in the selection of drug products
4. Monitor patients total drug therapy
5. Counseling patients
6. Participating in cardio-pulmonary emergencies
d) General responsibilities:
1. Ensure that all drugs are handled properly
2. Participate in cardio-pulmonary emergencies
3. Provide education and training for pharmacists
RESEARCH IN HOSPITAL PHARMACY
Research
• The systematic investigation
• Discover new facts
• Add them to already existing body of
information
• Reach new conclusions
SCOPE OF RESEARCH IN PHARMACY
• Medical
• Pharmaceutical
• Social science

In Pharmacy research may be conducted at different

levels depending upon the ability of pharmaceutical.
It is designing of dosage form, quality of pharmaceutical
services, pharmacology of specific drug, treatment of
specific disease
RESEARCH IN HOSPITAL PHARMACY
• Pharmacist is a vital member of healthcare system. According to
American Society of Hospital Pharmacist (ASHP):
“The pharmacist if not all than at least an appropriate number
should be able to conduct or participate in Hospital Pharmacy
research”
There are two important purpose of research in Hospital Pharmacy
1. To improve things
2. To establish general rules about the events or behavior or trend to
predict future trends
In Hospital Pharmacy, research is often problem solving although it
uses research methods so it could be termed as method improvement
studies or product development or demonstration projects
PURPOSE OF HOSPITAL PHARMACY
RESEARCH
• Advancement of pharmacy practice and healthcare
• To generate new knowledge for improving the therapeutic use of
medicines and overall healthcare outcomes
• Serves as the bedrock for evidence-based pharmacy practice
• Pharmacists who possess the skills to conduct research is critical
because their roles in direct patient care and research is rapidly
advancing
• Data about the ability and competence of hospital-based pharmacists
on practice-related research have not been widely documented.
• It is also hard to quantify the research productivity of hospital
pharmacists in an environment where data are generally limited.
ADVANTAGES OF RESEARCH ON
HOSPITAL PHARMACY
1. Improvement in Medical Knowledge
• Patient's condition
• Diseases, comorbid and infections
• Regarding to symptoms
• Diagnostic techniques
• Treatment
• Clinical trials (scientific research on human body)
• If any epidemiology or any question arise on affected person
research done on virus type to form a new treatment
• Comparison of existing treatment
2. Improvement in Healthcare services
• Hospital phamacist are becoming more engaged with
research and development, often in collaboration with
medical staff and colleagues
• Improvement of quality of existing services
• Build the evidences base for developing and
commissioning new services
• Collecting and sharing these evidences
• Hospital pharmacists in all settings are fully engaged
with research to improve patients outcomes
3.Drug evaluation
• Many drugs are evaluated in hospitalized patients
before they are marketed.
• For Already existed drugs Hospital Pharmacist
can do modification.
• Perform Clinical trials either to check the effect of
the drug.
• The clinical evaluation of investigational drugs
present many opportunities for hospital
pharmacist to participate in research with other
members of an organization.
4.Dosing evaluation
• There are various TDM (therapeutic drug monitoring)
and clinical pharmacokinetic services established in
hospitals.
• Pharmacist can do research studies about:
 Drug plasma concentration, its bioavailability and
different comparative studies.
 Data which is obtained from researches involved in
individualization of drug dosing in patients.
• All biopharmaceutical aspects are analyzed (ADME)by
pharmacist on new compounds.
• In vitro studies for evaluation of bioavailability, half life ,
efficacy, toxicityand interactions.
5. Drug Utilization Review
• The prescribing, dispensing, administering and ingestion
of drug”

• ROLE OF HOSPITAL PHARMACIST IN DRUG

UTILIZATION REVIEW:
•By the interaction with physician and nurses
pharmacist collect data for drug utilization review.

• After taking data, pharmacist research to determine

benefit risk, cost effectiveness, over dose, under dose,
misuse of therapeutic class of the drug