Introduction to Pharmaceutical Care Flashcards
Define pharmaceutical care
Responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes that improve a patients quality of life
What are we as pharmacists responsible for?
- Share responsibility to any consequences that happen to patients
- Legal responsibility to protect them from harm
- This includes: overdose, incorrectly dispensed item
What are definite outcomes we look for in patients in therapy
- Pharmacist must establish purpose of drug treatment before and after drug therapy
- How do we make sure we achieve these outcomes- they must be documented and accessible to responsible healthcare providers
What do pharmacists look for in quality of life?
Improving the patients out look and perspective on life as well as health benefits in community and hospital
How do we ensure best pharmaceutical care?
- Dialogue with consumers
- Teamwork amongst providers
- Implement and monitor progresses
What sort of dialogue are we looking for when talking to patient
- Determine patients need from this consultation
- Identify potential and actual problems with medication
- Establish relationship with drug therapy which can be monitored and condition improved upon
- Side effects, allergies
- Adherence to the medication
What sort of teamwork are we looking for in pharmacists
Document drug treatment and related issues
Sharing information with other healthcare professionals
How do pharmacists implement and monitor processes?
- Pharmacists document the processes and responsibilities
- Outcomes should be recorded so improvements can be made
- Certain patient groups are targetted to promote health gains with health promotion
- Encouraged to develop and evaluate new services to patients
What are the 5 main roles of pharmaceutical care of a hospital patient that a pharmacist must do?
- Drug history
- Medicines reconcilation
- Screening prescriptions
- Monitoring
- Counselling
ALL THIS LEADS TO MEDICINES OPTIMISATION
When prescription screening, what must you look out for?
- Legible
- Correctly written
- Contra-indications
- Route
- Interactions
- Dose and frequency
- Side effects
- Cautions
- Duration
- Therapeutic Monitoring
What are the cautions of metoclopramide?
Caution in parkinsons disease
What are the cautions of Propranolol
Caution in diabetes- monitor the patient and change to cardio selective beta blocker if necessary
What are the contraindications of propranolol?
Contra-indicated in second or third degree AV block- use an alternative drug group that is not negatively inotropic
In terms of appropriateness, what do you look out for?
- Drug therapy appropriate for patient? Rationale and evidence?
- Following NICE guidance and trust policy
- Does it cause problems with co-morbidities
- Can the patient swallow or use device to inject themselves
- Is patient happy to be on medication?
- Safest treatment?
What safety parameters do you have to monitor in a patient?
- Renal function- nephrotoxic drugs- aminoglycosides
- Pulse with digoxin
- Respiratory rate with opioids
