October 17, 2014

National Pharmacy Week, Oct. 19 to 25, recognizes the patient care provided by pharmacists and certified pharmacy technicians who work to manage medication usage, provide drug information and help build a system that is safe, effective and efficient.

These professionals support the decisions of hospital committees responsible for initiating and reviewing programs, policies, guidelines and other tools to promote safe, appropriate and cost-effective medication usage within TriHealth.

Pharmacists handle a variety of requests and tasks for TriHealth, including those related to:

Drug Information

• Answer requests for drug information on topics including:
• Current approaches to therapy
• Clinical alternatives (in response to drug shortages)
• Compatibility and stability of drugs given by injection 

Drug Use Evaluation

• Study patterns of medication use  in terms of safety, effectiveness and cost containment
• Develop, implement and evaluate practice changes that promote safe, appropriate, and cost effective drug use

Medication Safety

• Analyze data related to medication errors reported in IRIS or via reports available from various technologies (i.e. bar code scanners, Pyxis dispensing cabinets, Alaris smart IV pumps)
• Share information with health care professionals to help prevent medication errors

Procurement and Inventory Management

• Purchase drugs for use in the TriHealth system and ensure that they are kept safe and secure for patient use
• Find suppliers of alternate drugs when necessary in response to drug shortages

Pharmacy Informatics

• Focus on how information systems acquire and store data and how those data are analyzed, used, and disseminated in support of high quality healthcare