The concept of hospital pharmacy was started in Sunshine Hospital in 16th Jannuary-2021. To feed up to the OPD Patients as well as IP patients, Sunshine Hospital has started their 24 hours services in their own Pharmacy inside. Where the majority of hospitals in the town they do not have their own hospital pharmacies.
The concept of a hospital pharmacy is either not clear or intentionally overlooked in hospital management within teaching hospitals. Generally, hospital management rents out space to private vendor, who runs its own private pharmacy.
Normally Pharmacy is the back bone of a hospital, even by issuing a day expiry medicine a patient can dia.
The hospital pharmacy is one of the key departments in hospitals that deals with procurement, storage, compounding, dispensing, manufacturing, testing, packaging, and distribution of drugs. The research in pharmaceutical science and education is also the responsibility of this department; it is carried out under professional and competent pharmacists. The hospital pharmacy has a high impact on the economics of health costs. Today, drug monitoring services and drug information services are integrated in the hospital pharmacy. The hospital pharmacist is capable of purchasing, storing, handling, pricing, and dispensing medications. Furthermore, pharmacists provide drug information to all health care professionals and the public and act as a connection between the patient and the physician. Hospital pharmacists provide specifications for purchasing drugs, chemical and biological medications, etc. They are further responsible for the manufacturing and distributing of medicaments such as transfusion fluids, parenteral products, tablets, capsules, ointments, stock mixtures, and proper storing of drugs. Hospital pharmacists can sterilize and dispense parenteral medications manufactured in hospitals. They fill and label all drug containers and dispense them. The purchase of drugs, proper conditions for drug storage, maintaining records, and supplying of drugs to the outpatient department are the responsibilities of hospital pharmacists. The functions of hospital pharmacists further include medication monitoring services for inpatients and cooperation in the research program of hospitals.
Our Hospital pharmacy department backed by competent and professionally trained staff. They are competent to deal with all the departmental Medicines Prescriptions.
Hospital pharmacy departments are expected to optimize the preparation, dispensing, and distribution of medications. So, it is necessary to have policies and regulations for handling medication safely. Hospital pharmacy practice provides services to all patients. These services include dispensing and distribution of medication, processing medication orders, providing drug information services, participating in quality improvement programs, participating in hospital activities, and ensuring the availability of medications with affordable prices. However, in a study conducted to evaluate job satisfaction and job-related stress between community pharmacists and hospital pharmacists in Odisha City, pharmacists in the hospital setting were more satisfied than pharmacists in the community setting.
Although many hospital pharmacies are open 24 hours a day, some smaller hospitals may close their pharmacy during the night hours. This will often require access by a nursing supervisor, or other equivalent positions in the healthcare organization. This access presents a special vulnerability that demands a high degree of personal diligence on the part of the nursing supervisor. In most cases, depending on the frequency of required access and the assessed degree of risk, a security escort should be provided.
An emergency after-hours drug room or large cabinet can also be effective. This container can be stocked with the type and amount of drugs the facility is expected to need that night. This system eliminates many unnecessary trips to the pharmacy. In either case, procedures must be developed to carefully document who enters the pharmacy and what drugs are removed. These records should be available to the pharmacist for review when the pharmacy reopens.
Intrusion alarms are highly recommended for all closed pharmacies, regardless of size. Not only are electronic motion detectors and other anti-intrusion devices effective in detecting illegal entry, but they also serve as a strong deterrent to break-ins. Relatively inexpensive holdup cameras can provide additional levels of protection, as well as can video surveillance systems.
At present, The hospital pharmacy services are generally classified into four categories: outpatient pharmacy service, inpatient pharmacy service, drug information service, and other services (e.g., sterile products and chemotherapy, therapeutic drug monitoring, and quality management), depending on the hospital size and resources. Prior to 1990, the main services for outpatients and inpatient units were drug dispensing and distribution. After the concept of pharmaceutical care was adopted, the services for inpatient care focus more on clinical pharmacy activities such as ward-rounding, medication reconciliation and various types of drug therapy monitoring.
