Hospital Pharmacy

Until the mid-1960s, hospital pharmacists, like their colleagues working in the community, were engaged mainly in the compounding and dispensing of medicines. As in community pharmacies, the majority of medicines dispensed from hospital pharmacies are now manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry. Only specialised items, such as certain sterile products which cannot be supplied by industry, are manufactured ‘in house’. As the range of drugs available from the pharmaceutical industry increases, and more and more potent drug substances with narrow therapeutic index come onto the market, the potential for serious medication errors, adverse drug reactions and drug interactions has increased.

TABLE 2.1 Membership of the Pharmaceutical Society by occupation

Principal Occupation Number

Community 19 170

Hospital 4 212

Industry 1 375

Wholesale 105

Teaching 386

Other pharmaceutical 533

Non-pharmaceutical 466

No paid employment 4 420

Total 30 717

Consequently, the need has arisen for pharmacists to play a more active and direct role in the provision of pharmaceutical services within hospitals. Thus the concept of ‘ward pharmacy has evolved. Pharmacists at the ward level may be involved in patient medication at the pre-prescription stage, working with physicians, supplying them with pharmaceutical and therapeutic information and assisting in the selection of the appropriate medication. In addition to their activities at ward level, hospital pharmacists are now involved in the supply of drugs (to ‘in’ and ‘out’ patients), stock control and prescription monitoring. They may also supply drug information to doctors, nurses and other members of the primary health care team, and, where appropriate, to patients and their relatives.

There is scope in the hospital system for a degree of specialization within hospital pharmacy. Hence pharmacists may specialize in, for example, therapeutic drug monitoring, radio-pharmacy, drug information, production, quality assurance and quality control. ‘Community services pharmacists’ operate from hospitals and provide a pharmaceutical service to clinics in the community.

Упражнение 1. Прочтите текст «Hospital Pharmacy»

Упражнение 2. Скажите: а) что делали больничные фармацевты до середины 60-х годов?

б) какие лекарственные и другие вспомогательные средства не производятся промышленным способом.

в) каковы обязанности «палатного» фармацевта?

г) какую специализацию может приобрести больничный фармацевт.

Упражнение 3. Дайте краткое изложение содержания текста.