BACKGROUND Utilisation of the electronic medical record (EMR) is believed to facilitate timely access to patient information, enhance communication between care team members and further promote clinical decision support. OBJECTIVE To determine if pharmacist-generated electronic consults (e-consults) improve blood pressure control among patients with uncontrolled hypertension in a multisite he...

It is essential to identify the expectations of physicians and nurses regarding clinical pharmacy (CP) services before its introduction in a hospital, because it is known that their expectations can substantially differ from the pharmacists' point of view. Agreement of leading physicians, nurses and clinical pharmacists about the importance of CP activities in the hospital was evaluated using f...

BACKGROUND A non-dispensing pharmacist conducts clinical pharmacy services aimed at optimizing patients individual pharmacotherapy. Embedding a non-dispensing pharmacist in primary care practice enables collaboration, probably enhancing patient care. The degree of integration of non-dispensing pharmacists into multidisciplinary health care teams varies strongly between settings. The degree of i...

Today there are significant gaps between reaching the goal of "optimal medication therapy" and the current state of medication use in the United States. Pharmacists are highly accessible and well-trained--yet often underutilized--key health care professionals who can move us closer toward achieving better medication therapy outcomes for patients. Diabetes medication management programs led by p...

OBJECTIVE To ascertain the opinions of family physicians about medication adherence in patients with chronic diseases and the role of community pharmacists in improving adherence to chronic medications, as well as their opinions on increased collaboration with pharmacists to enhance medication adherence. DESIGN A self-administered postal survey of 19 questions, with opinions collected by ordi...

BACKGROUND A comprehensive Compensation Plan for pharmacy services delivered by community pharmacists was implemented in Alberta, Canada in July 2012. Services covered by the Compensation Plan include care planning services, prescribing services such as adapting prescriptions, and administering a drug or publicly-funded vaccine by injection. Understanding how the Compensation Plan was framed an...

Pharmaceutical care signifies a shift of practice in pharmacy from being drug product-oriented to the one that is patient-oriented to achieve definite outcomes that improves patients' quality of life. In order to achieve pharmaceutical care, pharmacists have to assume the role of caregiver, communicator, decision-maker, teacher, researcher, life-long learner, leader, and manager, which will hel...

BACKGROUND Warfarin prescription for anticoagulation after cardiac surgery has always been a challenge for junior medical staff. METHODS A prospective study was carried out to assess the quality of anticoagulation control by junior doctors compared with clinical pharmacists at South Manchester University hospitals NHS Trust. The junior medical staff prescribed warfarin for 50 consecutive pati...

Global healthcare expenditure is escalating at an unsustainable rate. Money spent on medicines and managing medication-related problems continues to grow. The high prevalence of medication errors and inappropriate prescribing is a major issue within healthcare systems, and can often contribute to adverse drug events, many of which are preventable. As a result, there is a huge opportunity for ph...