Hospital Pharmacy Practices
Hospital pharmacies, usually found within the premises of a hospital, normally stock a larger range of drugs and medications (including more specialised varieties) than would be practicable in a community pharmacy.
Most hospital medications consist of a single dose or unit-dose of medicine. Hospital pharmacists may compound sterile products for patients or prepare medications to be given intravenously. This is a complex process that requires quality assurance of products, training of personnel, and good facilities.
Hospital pharmacists tend to have more complex clinical medication management issues compared to community pharmacists, who usually have more complex customer relations and business issues. The complex medication issues include the effectiveness of treatment regimens, specific indications, patient compliance issues (in the hospital and at home) and drug interactions. Pharmacists may also specialise in a specific area, such as:
- anticoagulation clinics
- critical care
- emergency medicine
- epilepsy management
- haematology
- herbal medicine
- HIV/AIDS
- infectious diseases
- neonatal care
- neurology management
- oncology
- paediatrics
- pain management
- psychiatry
- toxicology
