Pharmacy's opportunity to mature as a profession by accepting its social responsibility to reduce preventable drug-related morbidity and mortality is explored. Pharmacy has shed the apothecary role but has not yet been restored to its erst-while importance in medical care. It is not enough to dispense the correct drug or to provide sophisticated pharmaceutical services; nor will it be sufficient to devise new technical functions. Pharmacists and their institutions must stop looking inward and start redirecting their energies to the greater social good. Some 12,000 deaths and 15,000 hospitalizations due to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were reported to the FDA in 1987, and many went unreported. Drug-related morbidity and mortality are often preventable, and pharmaceutical services can reduce the number of ADRs, the length of hospital stays, and the cost of care. Pharmacists must abandon factionalism and adopt patient-centered pharmaceutical care as their philosophy of practice. Changing the focus of practice from products and biological systems to ensuring the best drug therapy and patient safety will raise pharmacy's level of responsibility and require philosophical, organizational, and functional changes. It will be necessary to set new practice standards, establish cooperative relationships with other health-care professions, and determine strategies for marketing pharmaceutical care. Pharmacy's reprofessionalization will be completed only when all pharmacists accept their social mandate to ensure the safe and effective drug therapy of the individual patient.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗

PubMed1988

Unresolved issues in the future of pharmacy.

The effect of the major forces shaping pharmacy's future--technology, economics, and social values--is discussed. Pharmacy can best respond to these forces by expanding the informational component of pharmacy practice and by returning to its fundamental relationship with society--that is, by accepting responsibility for drug-use control. To accomplish this, pharmacy must go through a process of occupational reconstruction and self-renewal. Technological forces shaping pharmacy practice include computers and robotics, communications, and therapeutics. Regarding economic changes, medical-care decisions are shifting away from individuals toward "third parties." This factor, combined with output-based payment systems, may lead to a consolidation of service providers. Marketing pharmaceutical services and organizing pharmacy's internal structure will become important. Some of the social forces affecting pharmacy's future include the aging population, the weakening of professional authority, and pharmacy's public image. Just as society goes through the "information revolution," pharmacy will need to undergo a "reprofessionalization." Pharmacy's societal function should involve "pharmaceutical care," a concept that includes both drug-product control and clinical pharmacy services. Pharmacy should return to its preindustrial origins in valued, complex, specific, and committed public service if it wishes a happy postindustrial future.

Pharmacy↗

PubMed1988

Economic consequences of two drug-use control systems in a teaching hospital.

Length of stay (LOS), total cost per admission (TCA), and pharmacy cost per admission (DCA) were determined for two drug-use control systems in a 1058-bed university hospital; a centralized unit dose drug distribution system served as a control. The two study systems were (1) pharmacist monitoring of drug therapy in the patient-care area and (2) centralized pharmacist monitoring of computerized patient profiles. LOS data were collected retrospectively for 659 patients admitted during a seven-month control interval. LOS, TCA, and DCA data were collected prospectively for 496 patients admitted during a five-month experimental interval. Each study system was assigned to one of three teams making rounds among intact patient groups. LOS differences were compared between intervals and by month. After corrections were made for differences in patient mix, the drug-use control system in which pharmacists were assigned to the patient-care area yielded a 1.5-day-shorter average LOS, $1293 lower average TCA (p less than 0.05), and $155 lower average DCA than under the unit dose system. The drug-use control system in which pharmacists were assigned to monitor patients' drug therapy from a central location was associated with a 0.13-day-shorter average LOS, $235 lower average TCA, and $55.13 lower average DCA than under the unit dose system. No systematic differences between teams, other than drug-use control system, appeared to explain the differences in LOS, TCA, and DCA. A drug-use control system based in a patient-care area, overseen by clinically experienced pharmacists, may result in shorter LOSs and lower total costs than centralized systems for general-medical inpatients of teaching hospitals.

Contraceptives, Oral, Combined↗

PubMed1988

Career patterns of pioneer clinical pharmacists.

The career paths of some early clinical pharmacists from their first positions during the years 1965-1974 to their current positions were studied. In August 1985 a group of pharmacists was surveyed to determine (1) the extent to which they had maintained a clinical practice (defined as direct patient contact, including evaluating and planning drug regimens), (2) the number of job-function changes, and (3) the degree of the pharmacists' commitment to public service, as measured by Hall's Belief in Public Service and Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Personality Values. The response rate for the 337 questionnaires was 73.5%. The average age of the group was 40 years; 83% were men, and 79% possessed Doctor of Pharmacy degrees. The respondents had changed job functions an average of 2.1 +/- 1.5 times over the last 13 years since the highest professional degree. The percentage in the job functions of hospital pharmacist and pharmacy faculty declined over time while those in hospital pharmacy administration, academic administration, and the pharmaceutical industry increased. Clinical-practice activity declined over time, with a twofold net increase in those reporting no direct patient-care responsibilities. Male respondents with fewer years after their highest professional degree, a greater belief in public service, higher theoretical values, and no residency experience were more likely to be currently involved in direct patient care than others. Although attrition among pioneer clinical pharmacists is not excessive for those who began their careers with a relatively small percentage of their time devoted to clinical practice, most pharmacists who began with substantial clinical commitments have reduced or eliminated clinical activities over time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Career Mobility↗

PubMed1988

Economic aspects of clinical decision making: evaluating clinical programs.

The importance of program evaluation is discussed, and issues to consider when designing and conducting program evaluations in the restructuring health-care environment are identified. Program evaluation is carried out for the purpose of supporting specific decisions for individual organizations. Unlike scientific research, program evaluation accepts time as a constraint, and its audience is composed of managers. Considering the likelihood of being fixed-dollar contractors or employees in an era of managed care, professionals must try to understand the cost objectives of management; similarly, managers must understand the patient-care objectives of professionals. Program evaluation can help provide the necessary documentation of a program's impact on the outcome of health care, which influences the total cost of care. Successful program evaluation requires careful planning, and issues related to six steps in the planning process are described: defining the objective of the evaluation, choosing and defining the program to be evaluated, choosing indicator variables, designing the evaluation, presenting the results, and planning follow-through. While program evaluation is too often understood in negative terms, particularly as something done because of external pressure, it is as much a part of management as is directing day-to-day operations or developing a long-range plan.

Decision Making↗

PubMed1986

Controversies in antimicrobial therapy: critical analysis of clinical trials.

Problems with design and statistical evaluation of clinical efficacy trials of antimicrobial agents are reviewed. Of the three major criteria used for evaluating antimicrobial agents (efficacy, toxicity, cost), the most important is efficacy. Clinical efficacy can be evaluated in uncontrolled or controlled clinical trials. Uncontrolled trials are often conducted to satisfy Food and Drug Administration requirements during premarketing testing; the response rate is typically high because only patients with susceptible infections may be treated and large doses are given. Controlled antibiotic trials should be randomized, blinded, parallel comparisons of an investigational agent versus the best available agent at an accepted dose. However, interpretation of these studies is frequently clouded by poor study design, small sample sizes, and heterogeneous patient populations. Controlled trials are usually centered around a null hypothesis (i.e., that no difference will be found between the agents being compared). All conclusions (to reject or not reject the null hypothesis) should be carefully evaluated by clinicians seeking to apply the available data to patient care. Researchers can incorrectly conclude that two therapies have equal efficacy because of insufficient statistical power (i.e., small sample size) or poor study design. Likewise, researchers may incorrectly conclude that there is a statistical difference between two therapies because of poor design or improper sample selection. For the clinician, clinical relevance takes precedence over statistical significance. Before the results of a study are allowed to affect drug use in an institution, strong similarities between subjects and methods in the study and patients and care in the institution should be demonstrated.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1986

Proceedings of a symposium on careers in clinical pharmacy. Perspectives from research in the social and behavioral sciences.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Career Choice↗

PubMed1985

Drug choice as a problem-solving process.

A model of the drug prescribing process, which incorporates prescribers' personal values about treatment outcomes and beliefs about treatment effects, was tested under actual clinical conditions. Forty physicians were given two fictional case histories and six disguised case histories of patients whom they had recently treated for hypertension or maturity-onset diabetes mellitus. The physicians completed questionnaires based on each case history that measured 1) the beliefs about the probability that seven treatment-related outcomes would result from the prescribing of several alternative treatments and 2) the values placed on each outcome. The physicians were also asked, in an open-ended question, how they would treat the patient described in the case. The 40 physicians proposed 172 drug treatments that corresponded to treatment alternatives for which beliefs about treatment effects had been measured. The model correctly predicted 1) prescribing intent in 81% of hypertension cases and in 87% of the diabetes cases and 2) actual prescribing in 76% of hypertension cases and in 70% of the diabetes cases, significantly more than would be expected at random (P less than 0.01). The prescribing model appears useful for predicting drug choices for the outpatient treatment of hypertension and diabetes by resident physicians.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1985

Pharmacy as a clinical profession.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Humans↗

PubMed1985

Improving patient-oriented pharmacy services: panel discussion.

A panel discussed ways to improve patient-oriented pharmacy services, drawing on the proceedings of a recent conference on directions for clinical practice in pharmacy. Clinical pharmacy should be defined in terms of responsibility rather than by a list of specific functions. Pharmacists are responsible for drug use, not just for dispensing; this implies responsibility for educating physicians and nurses to ensure optimal patient outcomes. Clinical practice cannot be separated from pharmacy practice; although pharmacy practice requires different kinds of tasks, all have the goal of patient care. Pharmacists can exercise their responsibility for control of drug use without prescriptive authority or mandated review of physician prescribing. Pharmacists can increase their influence on drug therapy through the formulary system and through their physical presence on patient-care units. A mission statement that recognizes responsibility for patient outcomes can serve as the basis for a management system that supports clinical practice. The panel members believed that pharmacy leaders at the conference were unified by a commitment to increase the profession's clinical orientation.

Humans↗

PubMed1984

Effect of an automated bedside dispensing machine on medication errors.

The effect of an automated bedside dispensing machine on medication errors was studied on a 32-bed surgical unit of an 848-bed hospital. The experimental system (McLaughlin Dispensing System) included at each patient's bedside a locked medication cabinet that was electronically programmed to allow the nurse access to doses due at a particular time. The control system was a decentralized unit dose system. A crossover study design with random assignment of subjects and treatments was used. In the 14-day study period, nurses were observed by a pharmacist for 28 five-hour periods as they administered medications on the day and evening shifts. The mean error rates were significantly different--10.6% for the experimental system and 15.9% for the control system. Wrong time errors were the most common type. No significant differences were found between day and evening shifts or workloads of individual nurses. There was no treatment order effect. The error rate was significantly lower for the automated dispensing system than for the system using unit doses dispensed from a satellite pharmacy. Automated dispensing systems may be useful in reducing errors in administration time and dose omissions.

Computers↗

PubMed1982

Antibiotic use review in ambulatory care using computer-assisted medical record audit.

The use of a computer-assisted medical record audit (CAMRA) for reviewing antibiotic use in ambulatory patients was evaluated. A random sample of 40 medical records documenting treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis, otitis media, or acute, uncomplicated urinary tract infections at two family practice clinics was used to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of computerized prescription screening and CAMRA relative to medical record audit (MRA) alone. Accuracy was the ability to correctly classify antibiotic therapy as appropriate or inappropriate. The initial computerized prescription screening criteria were modified to reduce the proportion of false positives and negatives and a second random sample of 40 medical records was audited. The computerized prescription screening was the most efficient method, requiring less than one hour of professional time to audit 80 medical records. MRA and CAMRA took 17.4 and 3.0 hours, respectively. By definition, MRA was 100% accurate. Computerized prescription screening and CAMRA correctly classified 73% and 78% of the medical records, respectively. The results of this study are similar to a previous study reviewing antihypertensive therapy, but this study showed CAMRA less favorably. This is primarily because of the many diagnoses for which a particular antibiotic can be prescribed and the wide dosage ranges for antibiotics based on body weight. CAMRA could be more useful for evaluating antibiotic therapy if diagnostic information were available before doing the computerized prescription screening and if the computerized prescription screening criteria included patient diagnosis and body weight.

Ambulatory Care↗

PubMed1982

Rationales expressed by empiric antibiotic prescribers.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1982

Prescribers' beliefs and values as predictors of drug choices.

A cognitive model of the drug-prescribing process, which incorporates prescribers' attitudes (valences) about treatment outcomes and beliefs (instrumentalities) about drug effects, was tested. Twelve physicians were interviewed to identify common outcomes associated with drug therapy; six distinct outcomes were identified. Then 50 family practice residents were given a hypothetical description of a mildly hypertensive patient and three treatment choices. The physicians completed a questionnaire that identified (1) the instrumentalities of each of the alternative treatments for each of the six outcomes and (2) the valences for each outcome. The physicians were also asked to respond to an open-ended question on how they would treat the patient described in the case. Forty-six physicians proposed 39 treatments that corresponded to the three treatments for which instrumentalities and valences were available. The drug-choice model correctly predicted 28 of 39 (72%) therapeutic decisions, which was significantly more than would be expected by chance (p less than 0.01). Both valences and instrumentalities appear important for predicting prescribing intention. Pharmacists can use this model in their attempts to influence prescribing.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗