What is a pharmaceutical care plan?
A pharmaceutical care plan is a systematic, comprehensive process with three primary functions:
- Identifying a patient’s actual and potential drug-related problems
- Resolving the patient’s actual drug-related problems
- Preventing the patient’s potential drug-related problems
The pharmaceutical care plan is a written, individualized, comprehensive medication therapy plan based on clearly defined therapeutic goals. It is made available to all pharmacists caring for a patient and is updated with each major change in patient status. It is important that the physician be informed about the care plan to ensure common goals. Patients should also be informed about the general content of the care plan as means of gaining their agreement regarding drug therapy.
In other words, pharmaceutical care is the direct, responsible provision of medication-related care for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes that improve a patient’s quality of life.
Why we are introducing a pharmaceutical care plan in our pharmacy
Pharmaceutical care services have been ranked as the most highly regarded professional pharmacy practice that model allows identification, intervention, and resolution of drug-related problems. This practice provides significant clinical outcomes and can reduce direct and indirect costs for health systems.
To patients, the goal of pharmaceutical care is to optimize the patient’s health-related quality of life and achieve positive clinical outcomes, within a realistic economic expenditure
It is a patient-centered, outcomes-oriented pharmacy practice that requires the pharmacist to work in concert with the patient and the patient´s other healthcare providers to promote health, prevent disease, and assess, monitor, initiate and modify medication use to assure that drug therapy. Here are the 5 steps we take
1. Creating a Patient Database
The first step in the care planning process is the creation of a comprehensive patient database, which has the following information:
- Patient demographics
- Diagnoses and past medical history
- Present medications and medication history
- Medication allergies/intolerances
2. Assessing drug-related problems
Following the creation of a comprehensive patient database, our pharmacists then evaluate the patient’s drug therapy:
- Assessing the patient for drug-related problems.
- Determining whether drug-related problems are being treated.
- Determining whether current drug therapy is appropriate.
- Determining whether additional drug therapy is needed.
- Determining if any of the drug-related problems may have been caused by medication.
An understanding of the types of drug-related problems that may occur facilitates the evaluation process. Most drug-related problems are the result of:
- Not receiving an indicated drug
- Receiving the wrong drug
- Receiving too little of the drug
- Receiving too much of the drug
3. Establishing therapeutic goals
Therapeutic goals are then established for each drug-related problem so that the pharmaceutical care planning process can be effective. Therapeutic goals are definite, realistic, and where possible, they are measurable. Most therapeutic goals relate to: approaching normal physiology, preventing adverse effects, and controlling medication costs.
4. Specifying monitoring parameters.
Finally, monitoring parameters are specified so that the patient´s progress can be followed. Monitoring parameters must also include potential adverse effects, determining desired endpoints for each parameter, and the frequency of monitoring.
5. Documenting the patient’s progress
Our pharmacists evaluate and document the patient’s progress in achieving the desired therapeutic goals and avoidance of potential adverse effects. The pharmaceutical care plan is updated with each major change in patient status.
Interested in a personalized pharmaceutical care plan for you or for your loved one? Contact us today!
