The roles and responsibilities of a Hospital pharmacist are mainly at
- Outpatient department
- Inpatient department
- In direct patient care areas
At Outpatient Department:
The roles and responsibilities of a hospital pharmacist in the outpatient department are:
a) Policies:
He assures that established policies and procedures are developed and strictly followed in the hospital according to the given guidelines.
b) Maintenance of Records:
He keeps the records of drugs supplied, bills of investigational drugs, staff records, narcotics, purchase bills, etc.
c) Display And Storage:
He ensures that all the drugs are maintained in proper condition and the permissions needed to run a pharmacy are displayed in a proper condition.
d) Drug Information:
He keeps himself and others working in the department well informed about the drugs present in the hospital, their therapeutic indications, side effects, stability, etc.
e) Co-Ordination:
He coordinates all the activities of the dispensed areas to the best possible services. Etc.
f) Supervision:
He reviews all the misused and abused drug lists, dose misses, refilling, storage, etc, and charts correctly according to the dosage schedule.
In Patient Department:
a) Administrative Ability:
He should prepare a work schedule, policies, and procedures for various pharmacy activities and interact with staff daily to seek out and solve problems along with the chief pharmacist.
b) Technical Ability:
Apart from the hospital pharmacy, he should have a thorough knowledge of subjects of pharmacognosy, pharmacology, different routes of administration, drug stability, storage, and distribution.
c) Development Of Manufacturing Section:
It is very important to control the quality, quantity, supply, and cost of materials used in hospital pharmacy. He should have the capacity to analyze and implement things that are better for the hospital.
d) Maintenance Of Records:
He should keep all the records of drugs supplied, drugs returned, investigational drug bills, IV admixtures list, etc.
e) Ability To Control Inventory:
He plays a crucial role in inventory of drugs, maintaining emergency drugs, stocking drugs at nursing stations, etc.
f) Ability To Participate In Research:
He should maintain the latest information about drugs, pharmaceutical journals, and internet facilities to clarify quires about the therapeutic regimens and share this with other health professionals.
g) Continuing Educational Programs:
He should conduct, participate, and motivate health professionals to participate in continuing educational programs about the latest information regarding drugs and policies and keep a record of them.
At Direct Patient Care Areas:
a) Patient Counseling:
The complete drug therapy of patients for its effectiveness, side effects, toxicities, allergic reactions, etc are carefully explained to patients and motivate them to take medications correctly.
b) Selection Of Drugs:
He assists the physicians in the selection of drugs, dosage regimens, drug schedules, and duration of administration.
c) Patient Information:
He should obtain the patient’s past medical history of drugs that are currently used and this information should be shared with clinical physicians at regular intervals which gives him adequate knowledge of drug schedules, therapeutic uses, drug allergies, etc.
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