Clinical pharmacy in an inpatient leukemia and bone marrow transplant service

Abstract

The clinical pharmacists on the in-patient adult leukemia and bone marrow transplant (IAL-BMT) service at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center have been practicing with the medical and nursing staffs under the institution’s clinical pharmacist practice guidelines since their implementation in 1998. Before these guidelines were put in place, the major role of a clinical pharmacist was to serve as a consultant. Often the medical and nursing staffs could not benefit maximally from the pharmacist’s presence, because there was no authorization for pharmacists to write medication or other orders and no clear delineation of patient care responsibilities. After identifying the areas where pharmacists could contribute significantly to patient care, practice guidelines were drafted by the pharmacists and approved by hospital administration in 1998. The main purpose of the clinical pharmacist practice guidelines was to allow pharmacists to take a more proactive role in patient care and thereby improve care and save money.