Documentation of the first steps of pediatric pharmaceutical care in a county hospital.
Pediatric pharmaceutical care is still a new concept in the pharmacy profession. In our county institution with 35% of the beds reserved for pediatric patients, there existed no formal process for providing specialized pediatric pharmacy services. In an effort to rectify this situation, a study was conducted to determine the benefits of providing pharmaceutical services by having a clinical pharmacist round with physicians on a daily basis for 3 hours. All services provided were documented for 6 months and direct cost-savings were calculated. Five hundred four different interventions and services were provided, with over $7000 in savings. Because of these findings, the pharmacy and hospital administration agreed to provide a staff pharmacist to round in pediatrics on a regular basis. This approach is considered to be more cost effective than using a clinical pharmacist for daily rounds.
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Ben Taub General Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
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McCants
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D002648:Child; D017046:Cost Savings; D004282:Documentation; D016527:Drug Costs; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000592:standards*; D006745:Hospital Bed Capacity, 300 to 499; D006757:Hospital Units / Q000592:standards; D006766:Hospitals, County; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000592:standards*; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D013781:Texas