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571

SUMMARY

Clinical pharmacists are specialty trained practitioners

who provide direct patient care and comprehensive medica-

tion management. While the practice model is most well

established in the United States, there are clinical phar-

macists throughout the world who are improving the

care of patients of all ages and in all areas of acute and

ambulatory care. This paper reviews the training stan-

dards, expected competencies, and contributions of clinical

pharmacists.

Key words: Pharmacists, pharmacotherapy, teams,

residency, training.

INTRODUCTION

Clinical pharmacists are licensed practitioners with

advanced education and training who practice in all types

of patient care settings with a focus on comprehensive

medication management. These specialized pharmacists

are focused on achieving optimal use of medications,

emphasizing dosing, monitoring, identification of adverse

effects, and economic efficiency to achieve optimal patient

outcomes. Clinical pharmacists are gaining significant atten-

tion worldwide as important members of the patient care

team for ambulatory and acute care patients. This paper

CLINICAL PHARMACISTS:

PRACTITIONERS WHO ARE ESSENTIAL

MEMBERS OF YOUR CLINICAL CARE

TEAM

JUDITH JACOBI, PHARMD, ACCP, MCCM, BCPS, BCCCP (1)

(1) Critical Care Clinical Pharmacist. Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital. Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

Email:

jjacobi@iuhealth.org

Item received: 21-04-2016

Article approved for publication: 09-08-2016

will describe the actual and potential scope of practice of

clinical pharmacists throughout the world.

DEFINITION OF CLINICAL PHARMACY

The American College of Clinical Pharmacy is the organi-

zation with a primary focus on clinical pharmacist devel-

opment, advancement, and positioning among other

providers, the public, and professional societies. There

are over 16,000 members, but many other practitioners

practice clinical pharmacy. The definition of clinical phar-

macy is a health science discipline where pharmacists

provide patient care that optimizes medication therapy

and promotes health, wellness, and disease prevention

(1). Clinical pharmacists practice in all health care settings

and utilize in-depth knowledge of medications and disease

states to manage medication therapy as part of a multi-

professional team. Clinical pharmacists are responsible and

accountable for medication therapy and patient outcomes.

They are a primary source of scientifically valid information

on the safe, appropriate, and cost-effective use of medi-

cations.

While pharmacists may participate in the management

of specific medications or individual disease states (e.g.

diabetes, hypertension) in collaboration with the care team,

[REV. MED. CLIN. CONDES - 2016; 27(5) 571-577]