Clinical Pharmacy

Development of interaction between physician, pharmacist and patient has encouraged the appearance of such specialty as clinical pharmacy.

In the USA and Canada the transfer process of pharmacy into “clinical basis” started about 30 years ago. After that the process of clinical pharmacy development has started in Europe: Germany, France, and Poland.

In Ukraine vocational training in clinical pharmacy was founded in the National University of Pharmacy in 1999. Today the specialty “Clinical pharmacist” is included into the National profession classifier; the position of clinical pharmacist practitioner is certified by the order of Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine.

Main specialty development concept involves cooperation of pharmacist and physician and the more active role of the pharmacist in the process of treatment, not only to the extent of primary consultation while selling medications, but also involves taking responsibility for the quality and optimal results of therapy.  This concept of pharmaceutical assistance (pharmaceutical care), aimed at improvement of patient treatment quality, covers the collaboration of physician and pharmacist to the full extent.

The “pharmaceutical care” is understood to be the constant highly qualified consultation of patients on issues of rational medication usage, drug storage conditions, rational choice of dosage forms and drug intake regulations etc.

Clinical pharmacist is an expert, familiar with basic types of medical documentation, general syndromology and clinical symptomatology in human disease progression, basic methods of clinical, laboratory and instrumental examination of patients, general principles of examination results interpreting, basic directions and principles of internal medicine.

Clinical pharmacist has systematic knowledge in clinical pharmacology, compatibility or incompatibility of medications in course of complex therapy, techniques of drug effectiveness evaluation, methodology of prediction and prevention of possible adverse reactions of drugs or combinations as well as their possible correction techniques.

Clinical pharmacist can apply his knowledge in various fields of practical activity:

–         In pharmaceutical institutions clinical pharmacist provides pharmaceutical care to patients:advices on the issues of rational drug intake, especially of OTC medicines, makes replacements with generic drugs, selects effective and cheaper equivalents of expensive branded drugs. This type of activity is one of the main kinds of clinical pharmacist’s work.Drug information pharmacist is prototype for clinical pharmacist;

–         In prevention and treatment facilities as a physician’s advisor on pharmacotherapy, clinical pharmacist provides individual approach to drug choice;

–         Hospital pharmacist is an expert, working at multi-field hospitals and conducts medication purchase with regard to hospital’s needs.

–         Clinical pharmacist provides rationalization for volume of financing from state and insurance funds – all this is important for development of insurance medicine in Ukraine.

–         In every prevention and treatment facility for every 300 beds and 25 ambulatory care physicians, one clinical pharmacist position is provided according to the instruction of Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine.

Clinical pharmacist-lab technician can work:

–         In clinical and biochemical laboratories and conduct clinical laboratory research;

–          In scientific research institutions of medical and pharmaceutical direction clinical pharmacist takes part in clinical approbation of drugs, studies bioequivalence, conducts preclinical study of new drugs;

–         In pharmaceutical business sphere clinical pharmacist helps create highly-qualified drug advertising, carry out marketing and pharmacoeconomic research, which provides scientific base for market promotion of drugs of different pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Clinical pharmacist is a medical representative of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. Appearance of this kind of expert is connected with demands of modern pharmaceutical market and rampant development of national pharmaceutical industry.

Clinical pharmacist is the present and the future of pharmacy. His activity is inspired work for the sake of preservation of human health, increase of life expectancy and improvement of life quality.

It is interesting! It is modern! It is prestigious!

 

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