fea aiy 1 0
Pharmacy
Doyle M. Cummings, PharmD, FCP, FCCP
er
4
Learning Objectives
Key Terms
‘Atte reading this chapter, students should be able to: + Community pharmacy
‘+ Explain the role of @ pharmacist and a pharmacy technician ‘+ Hospital pharmacy
* Identity different work settings and responsibiltis for pharmacists/technicians *» Longeim care
phaimacy
+ Describe the education and licensing process
‘+ Explain the relationship between pharmacists and other members of the
healthcare team
+ Discuss opportunities and challenges for working in the fie
& “A Day in the Life”
Hello, my name is Crystal and | ar a hospital phar
macst I work in large hospital next to th intensive care unit
‘with eal il patients who have heart disease and | am off to
morning rounds with the patont care tesm, and then back to
‘the pharmacy satelite Our pharmacy s decentralized win small
sharmacies called “satelite pharmacies” located next to patient
lowing me more opportunity to have a direct i
pact on ptiont cae. tell you all about the pation inthis area
‘ofthe hospital and how we work to optimize their medications
Ii going to ba busy day. Join me lator on for details
Wilcome back. only ave a few minutes to catch you up on
‘my day, Rounds with the patient care team in our eaciovasculer
unit here atthe hospital wont really wl this moming. Our in
‘erprofassional team of health professionals spent tims taking
+ Pharmaceutical industry
Ciinical pharmacy
practitioner
about how each of the patonts on our unit is doing, concen.
traing our alseussion on what we ean do fo help those who
ate the sickest get wel Wa taked about a patient who had a
heart stack and ie’ come to the hospital uti a day lator This
patent ie a 63-yeacold man With dabetes and high bleed pres-
sure; he has farmed allo his fe an ves along way from the
hospital. He thought his chest pain and sweating was “just
‘some sort of chest col” and he needed to finish his plowing
anyway. By delaying coming in, he now has extensive damage
tohis heart musela and he seems to have symptoms sugges:
tive of congestive heart fllure—a condition in which his heart
is now not pumping enough blood to meet the demands of his
body. Our doctors have ordered sore addtional tesis 10 ty
‘and measure exactly now wal his hearts pumping. Now | arm
(continues)
101Section Ik Peimary-Cave Professions
‘working with the doctors and nurses to get him sterted on
some new mecications that wil reat both his underlying coro:
nary artery disease that likely led to his heart atack as wall as
his congestive heart fare symptoms. These new medications
sll be in addition to the medicines he is aloady toking for
aotes and high blood pressure. speak with the patient and
{emily members late to find out exactly what madieations he
\wa faking at home and haw he was taking them. Ihave 3:
ready revievid his mecical char thankfully these are all com:
pputerized now) and have roted that he doesn't have any
alleygies to mecications; however, Ns Kidney function may be
\worsoning anc that might require us te reduce the dosage ot
cortain medications for hi. | already discussed treatment op:
tions withthe patient's doctor and we agreed on three new
‘medicines to start this patient on. | also talked to tha doctor
about the patient's diabetes conttoMhe's not controling his
blood glucase very well and we will nes to think about how
to teasition him back to outpatient care so that this and his
‘other medical aroblems get proper attention. The doctor just
‘wrote the oiders for thase medications, so | better soe how
ry pharmacy technician is doing and got to our werk. Wel
catch up at the end ofthe day
Wow, what day I's nally over. | have been at work since
7.09 a.m. i's boon along day but thas normal for my ob at
tho hospital, hare there ae lots of vary sick patiants, Aer |
last met with you, l completed the medication profile for the
patient we discussed and weorkod with my pharmscy teen:
cian to get him the new medications that he needed. | also
talked to the doctor about his dlabetes medications. His glu
.0s@ was not under good control and his worsening Kidney
function suggested that his previous ciavetes medication
rneaded tobe changed or have tha dosage reduced. | was able
te chat withthe doctor betore he let to go this oes and ne
‘agreed that we should switch medications.
‘Additionally, we filed orders for medications for the other
ations in the unt, one of whom we wore abo to wosn off of
Introduction to Pharmacy
Description
Pharmacy isa carefl an scenitcally trained profession that
Ini to ensure the safe and effective manaiacture, dispensing,
and use of medications. Pharmacists remain the only profes
sionals wo ae trained inthe safe compounding of medica
tions. This shill i stil frequently required for certain
medications, certain dosages that are not manufactured (€,
‘reduced dosages fr chien), certsin ovtes of rg admin-
ition (ag compontstng of pial creams and ointments
for dermatological se) andthe mitingof medications inthe
correct dosages into bags or bottles of sterile ids that are
administered intravenously (through a catheter directly into
102
intravenous metications in favor of oral medication so thst she
can start getting ready to go home. Ihave checkod al of the
prescription ofders tiled by my technician and veied that she
is providing the right maclcation and dosage, We also had @
pationt edited late this sternoon, who was tansfarred from
another sinall community hospital for notter evaluation and
treatment here. | veiled her curtent medications with the
pharmacy staffat the other hospital so that we could immedi
ato get her startec on the ight medications. She had been
having abnormal heart hythms that went undetected and un
fortunately she ended up having a significant stoke. Because
of her stroke, she cannot talk very well and | have had to get
some af the information | needed from her husband and
laughter, Also because of her stroke, she is having trouble
‘swallowing both food and her oral meceations. Ihave venta
this with the speech pathologist and nutritionist who have
been consulted to help with her care. Consequently the doctor
had to place a nasogastric tube down through her nose and
into her stomach and we are giving her liquid fod thraugh that
tubo. We are also crushing most of her eral medications and
the nurses are giving those medications down tho tube alco.
ne of her medications could not ne crushed, so we have to
{ive that maication in an injctableformultion through an in-
ttavonous eathotor. Figuring out the bost way to dolver tho
Fight medications at tha right time to patients lke these can
bea challenge. Hopefully her swallowing will improve late this
{ook and we ean begin glving the patont her usu} oral mec:
ications. Our team willneed to monitor her carefully as she re
covers to help ensure that she doesn't have a second stroke,
whic i a serious risk, The patient seems scarad and I have
talked 10 the nurses on our unit about giving her a lise extra
attention and reassurance. Our goal isto get her abnormal
heart hms under control and stabize her so that she can
be transferred torahabiitaion to improve her abilities after het
stroke, So, there you have t—sanather typical day inthe feof
‘a hospital based clinical pharmacis.
the patient's bloodstream) usually in hospital or emergency’
lepartment settings. Because providing too litle of a medi-
ine will often not treat the illness correctly and providing too
‘much medicine may leed to unintended adverse effects (often
called “side effects"), it isthe pharmacists role to help ensure
that the patient gets the right medicine, in the correct dosage,
atthe right time. As you might imagine this isa tremendou
responsibilty, yet one that can be very exciting and fulfilling
"Today's pharmacist is very well trained to accept and fulfill,
these advanced responsibilities. The intensive training in
pharmacy school involves advanced math and science skills,
combined with a thorough knowledge of diseases and med-
‘cations, as wells strong interpersonal skills to communicate
effectively with both the patient and the health-care team.Pharmacist Role
Femember thatthe primary role ofthe pharmacists to work
‘with other members of the hesltmcare team anc witn the
patent to ensure that the patient gets the ight mecicine in
the cottect dosage, atthe right time, and thatthe patient un-
derstand how to use it properiy. This means thet the por
mecist frequently works with doctors, nurses, physician
assistants, dentists, and pationts in decsions about medica-
tion selection, dasage, requency and timing of administra-
tion, and prevention or minimization of potential side effects
from medications. This interaction is especialy important in
the hospital and estca cara exviranment because petents
are often very sick, are on multiple medications at the same
time, and may not be abe ta take madications by mouth be-
c2use of tubes or other problems; also, their disease state
‘may change very rapidly, Here the pharmacists and other
team members ate in (raquent communication about the
unique needs of inavidual pations
History
Medicines have been a part of treating disease for millennia,
‘The use of medications to treat illness has been recorded by
ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Chines, longbefore
thebirh of Chris. These treatments frequently involved the
ssc of various plants and botanicals, which were prepared in
diferent ways and either taken internally oF applied topealy
to a wound. Lite was known about active ingredients (the
key ingredient most responsible for producing a desired
effet) how they worked, or what the proper desoge and du
ration of treatment should be for various patients Plants had
to be located and harvested and were eventually cultivated
sn local gardens to ensure an adequate supply. However, =
portant problems arose in extracting the active ingredients
from plants and compounding or making them into medi
«ines that patients consumed or used. These problems in-
cluded a lack of consistency i compounding from person to
person and place to place, resulting in dosages that might be
too high or too low andl often not the same from one day to
the next, Another common problem was that many of the
solvents used in extracting or delivering active ingredients
were often themselves highly toxic. Challenges stich as these
fused the development of the profession of pharmacy.
Regulation of Pharmaceuticals
“The US. Food and Drog Aaministation (FDA) isa federal
ageney thats legisatively mandated to oversee that
tion are both safe and effective before being made availble
tothe poblic. With the exception ofccasional prescriptions
Chapter 10: Pharmacy
here the pharmacist may compound ingredients into a final
dosage form for consumption or use by the patient, most
medications are manufactured by the modern pharmaceut:
cal industry. This enormous international industry now in
cludes for-profit companies, both large and small, that
comply with all of these regulations in the United States and,
around the world. The FDA tests medications for sale by pre
scription only, as well as some that are sold aver the counter
(ce, without a prescription required) both in pharmacies and
in a variety of other retail locations.
Pharmacists today are also supported by pharmacy tech
hicians who assist in preparing medications and prescrip
tions for distribution to the patient. Pharmacy technicians
are discussed later in ths chapter.
Locations and Content of Practice
for Pharmacists and Pharmacy
Technicians
‘The scopes of practice for pharmacists relate directly to the
‘education and licensure of the individual, the laws/require:
iments ofthe state, and the location of practice. Some af these
roles have already been alluded to following isa ist of some
of the important practice roles of pharmacists in vasious lo
cations, many of which continue to evolve in the changing
Ialth-care environment.!?
L. Community pharmacy: When people think of their
pharmacist, they usually think ofthe person who works
sta local pharmacy or drugstore. Here the pharmacist
rot only dispenses the right medication, he or she also
answers questions about dosages and potential side
effects, assists in the selection of over-the-counter
medications, encourages the patient's adherence to the
prescribed medication regimen, and helps patients
‘monitor their disease. This is also a common location
where pharmacy technicians work. These individuals
support the work of the pharmacist by greeting
patients, identifying and filling/refilling preseription
medications into vials or bottles, checking with
insurance companies about prescription coverage,
‘ensuring adequate inventories of medications and
supplies, and finalizing the sale of the medications to
the patient and/or family member.
Hospital pharmacy: Like those in community settings,
pharmacists help select the proper medications for a
given patient based on an understanding of the
patient's needs and past medication history. Hospital
based pharmacists assist with calculating dosages
103Section
Primary-Care Professions
FIGURE 10-1 patents scussing his medications with the local shar
maxis. The pharmacy may be sivately own or a chain tore pera
inyaious location across the Unitad States
(especially in situations where the patient's body
‘cannot properly metabolize or excrete the medication),
prepare medications, and dispense medications for
administration to the patient (although the actual
administration is often done by the patient's nurses).
Pharmacists also help to monitor how the medications
are working to ensure optimal outcomes and to
minimize adverse or side effects ofthe medications, as
‘well as drug interactions (a situation in which one
medication may have a change in its effects when
combined with another medication). Pharmacy
‘technicians help to support the role of the pharmacist
by obtaining medication orders from the medical
record system, preparing medications for delivery to
the patient care unit and for ease of administration
(often in single-use doses or prepared/mixed in
intravenous fluids), ensuring adequate inventories of
medications and suppliss, and checking with nursing
staf for any additional patient necds.
3. Long-term care pharmacy: As the population ages,
more individuals are spending their final years in a
system of congregate care locations for the elderly
that range from assisted-living sites and rest homes
108
FIGURE 10-2 In hospital pharmacy, the pharmacist may have to insert
‘medications int inteverous(Vfuds for patent use as directed bythe
sysisan,
to full skilled-care nursing homes with around-the-
clock care, Many of these elderly patients have
‘medical conditions and neeals that prevent them from
living alone in their own home. In these settings,
pharmacists have multiple roles. In one role, they
may work to dispense medications for these patients
in a manner similar to that described for community
and hospital pharmacy practice, Alternatively, as
many states require regular review of the patient's
‘medication regimen by a consulting pharmacist, they
‘may work as consultants—that is, pharmacists who
‘travel to one or more nursing homes, review medical
records, discuss care with providers andor nurses,
and make formal recommendations to the provider
regarding medication selection, dosing, monitoring,
and patient follow-up. Much ofthe early consulting in
‘nursing home settings was done by pharmacists who
FIGURE 103 This photo porays stele creations ofmsicaons being
processed ina hospital ghamacy. The pharmacist has to order, proces,
and prepare the macations fr sate use.
dovmandchei Tki
i
:
i
were employed by or owners of community
pharmacies. This work has evolved in many locations
into the development of large consulting pharmacy
operations that contract with many local nursing
homes to provide these services.
4. Pharmaceutical industry: Much of the actual
‘manufacturing of medications into specific dosage
forms (Le. tablets, capsules, liquids, creams) is now
‘managed by companies who then sell these products to
local pharmacies for dispensing to patients Pharmacists
have important roles in this setting based on their
‘unique knowledge of pharmaceutical compounding. kn
this environment, pharmacists work with medicinal
chemists, chemical engineers, packaging specialists,
and a variety of other individuals to ensure that the
active ingredients of the medication are combined
With the proper inactive ingredients or vehicles for
administration to the patient, as well as the proper
sterility of some final products. In this way they ensure
proper dissolution of the tablet or capsule in the
stomach of intestine of the patient, appropriate
sorption into the bloodstream in the concentrations
necessary to have a desired therapeutic effect for the
patient, and consistency from batch to batch of the
‘medication. They work with chemical engineers to
take these procedures, which may work in limited
quantities in the laboratory, and scale them up to
produce large quantities of product that can be mass
produced in advanced machinery.
Clinical pharmacy pract
mer: ‘The complexity of
drug therapy and the growth in number of new
‘medications have led to remarkable evolution in the
FIGURE 10-8 A porson with a pharmacy deqoo can wok i a phar
‘ceutical company to make and produce medications for dlvr a vendors
suet as hospitals and healthcare faites.
1. Specialized areas of pharmacy pract
Chapter 10: Pharmacy
‘practice of pharmacy tothe extent that some pharmacists
today no longer dispense medications but work solely
in clini, hospital, or other patient care environments
‘where they provide medication therapy consulting and
‘management {0 providers and patients to optimize
health-care outcomes. By working with providers such
as doctors and nurse practitioners or physician assistants,
these pharmacists recommend and monitor specific
drug therapies to maximize disease improvement while
minimizing side effoets and drug interactions. Some
practitioners also help patients lear how to use complex.
‘medications such as medication inhalers Forasthma and.
insulin injections for diabeties, and many counsel
patients about their medications and encourage
adherence in chronic disease states. Many states have
‘now established “collaborative practice agreements” oF
agreed-on relationships between clinical pharmacy
practitioners and physicians that allow the pharmacist in
selected disease states such as diabetes or hypertension,
to initiate medications, adjust dosages, order laboratory
fr other monitoring tests, and, under the oversight of,
‘the physician, manage the patient’s medication regimen.
‘This relationshi
therapy management. Medical and pharmacy boards in
many states have recognized the value of this
collaboration and established these agreements, but the
insurance industry has been slower in recognizing
pharmacists as independent practitioners that can
bill insurance carriers for non~product-telated services,
However, this situation is changing and many
health-care systems, managed-care agencies, and state
Medicaid programs are employing pharmacists in these
roles because overall health-care costs are often reduced,
is often referred to as medication
usually by optimizing medication choices thatare made
available and by reducing emergency department and
hospital visits
yharmacists
and pharmacy technicians may find employment in
4 variety of other specialized areas. One of these
is radiopharmacy, in which specific quantities and
dosages of radioactive pharmaceuticals that are
uused in diagnosing and treating certain diseases
are compounded and dispensed, Another area is
working with governmental or military agencies.
State and federal government agencies such as the
National Institutes of Health, the FDA, the Veterans
Administration, and various branches of the U.S.
Armed Forces hire pharmacists for a variety of
traditional and innovative roles. Another example is
working in drug information and poison control
105Section I: Primary-Care Professions
‘centers. Large health systems frequently have a drug
Information center, run by pharmacists, that serves asa
“help desk” or information resource about medications
{for health professionals throughout the health system.
Similarly, there is a nationwide network of poison
control centers that may employ pharmacists. These
‘pharmacists answer questions about toxic ngestions or
‘exposures and their acute management—usually in
‘emergency situations—from patients local citizens, and
health-care practitioners
Sel
Doyle M. Cummings,
PharmD, FCP, FCCP
Dr. Cummings has been in academic
rmadicine and pharmacy for many years
land has helped totrain countless young
pharmacists, as well as physicians and other heath profes:
sionels ter finishing his intial pharmacy schoo! training,
he decided that he wanted to practice in an interprofes-
sional environment with physicians, nurses, and othr
health professionals, He moved to Chicago and completed
2 hospital pharmacy residency training program at a large
Unversity hospital eyetem there, wher@ he had the exeting
Coppertunity of exploring different roles and making patiant
rounds with physicians, After this he matriculated into the
{ahon) post BS PhsrmD propram—a 2-year program in
Philadelphia whore he received intensive training in patho:
physiology and clnial therapeutics. After completion he
went on fo complete a post-Pharmd training program in
‘ambulatory care clinical pharmacy where he helped take
‘ate of pationts in ccs and outpatient environments, This
asa total of 9 years of education and taining, and it pro:
Vided him with unique and advanced skils to contribute in
fa changing haalth-care sysiom. Since then, his career has
advanced, allowing him to bocome a loading professor in 2
University health-care systam that trains pharmacy stu
dents and a wide variety of other health professionals,
‘Much of his werk nw focuses on patients with high blood
pressure and diabetes, two important and comman preb-
lems in our nation today. He has always enjoyed pharmacy
bocause it allows the pharmacist to bring a unique know
edge and skillbase—an in-depth understanding of medics
tions and how they work—to the compelling needs of
pationts, both those acutely il in the hospital and those
with chronic linessos such as hypertension and dlabotos
in the outpatient setting. Ifyou do well n school, love sc
{ence and math, and havea passion for helping others, phar
‘macy just might be right for you.
106
Required Education
Pharmacists
‘The entry-level degree for admittance into the profession of
pharmacy as a pharmacist is the doctor of pharmacy
(PharmD) degree. Because ofa shortage of pharmacists in the
fate 1990s:and early 2000s, there has been rapid growth in the
number of pharmacy school programs. In addition to broad.
bbased general education requirements (eg, English, foreign
language, history/humanities), admission to a pharmacy
school in the United States usually requires several things”
+ Completion of at leat 2 yeats of undergraduate college
Ithough the
‘majority of students in many programs already have an
education at an accredited institution,
undergraduate college degree at the time of admission/
matriculation.
+ Completion of specific prerequisites, usually including
advanced mathematics courses such as calculus and
statistics, as well asadvanced science courses in chemistry,
‘organic chemistry, biology, microbiology, anatomy!
physiology, and physics, all with grades of C or higher
(Bor bigheris preferred)
+ A composite grade point average (GPA) usualy above 3.0.
In most competitive programs, a GPA above 35s prefered
cor required.
Successful completion of the Pharmacy College
Admissions Test (PCA) with scores that are competitive
based on the guidelines set by each college's admissions.
program. Many programs focus on the average PCAT.
composite percentile rank score, Students can take this
standardized test multiple times to try to improve their
score, The testis offered ata wide variety of testing centers
around the United States
FIGURE 10-5 Pharmay ston ra required to compltoirtomshis be
fore receiving thei degra, The student is working in acarmmuity based
rmigcant health cline the ua community. Heis advising the mathe on|
proper modication dosages forthe bay,Suecessfial completion of an in-person interview with
admissions committee members from the College of
Pharmacy.
Application is made through « national consolidated
‘Web-enabled admissions process (PharmCAS) and requires
submission of letters of recommendation, Supplemental ap
plication materials are also often required by each pharmacy
school applied to, The admissions committees carefully re~
view application forms, often along with a personal state
‘ment about carcer goals, as well as any relevant work
experience and extracurricular activities. Once accepted, the
traditional program of sedy in most schools of pharmacy is
4 years in length, the same as medical and dental schools
Demographically, many pharmacy schools have a greater
percentage of females in entering classes than males. Once
successfully matriculated into pharmacy school, coursework
or topics include the following: biochemistry, medicinal
chemistry, physiology/pathophysiology, pharmacology,
pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical calculations, pharmacokinet
ies, pharmacotherapy, pharmacy law and ethics, pharmaceu~
tical care delivery, drug literature analysis, and multiple
clinical or applied rotations in pharmacy and medical set~
tings similar to those described previously. Most schools re=
quire maintenance at or above a certain GPA standard and
passage of all coursework to graduate
Graduates must successfully pass a comprehensive max
tional licensure examination to be licensed forthe practice of
pharmacy in a particularstate, Most students ake this exam
ination right after graduation from pharmacy school and
therelore passage rates are high. Once successfully licensed in
a particular state, there ae often reciprocity procedures (eg
application form, personal interview, state law examination,
{es) available that allow Ficensees to also become licensed in
Tho folowing list includes some of tha skils and
characteristics required for workingin the field of
‘pharmacy:
‘Able to handle stress
‘Advanced math and
science skis
cellent computing?
databaso-soatchingskils
Excellent team member
(on interprotessional
team
Cinical skis to assess
patient symptoms/
tinaings
Critical appraisal ofthe
medica literature
Manual dexterity for
‘compoundingfenaring
Multtasker
Dota odanted
Ethical
Responsible
Chapter 10: Pharmacy
“another slate, thercby increasing job potential. Additionally,
the vast majority of states require the completion of a mini:
‘mum number of continuing education hours of training each
‘year to maintain an active practice license in that state,
Pharmacy Technicians
For pharmacy technicians, there is wide variability in re
{quirements across states, Most states do not require phar:
macy technicians to have completed a pharmacy technician
training program to wark as « pharmacy technician; how.
‘ever, many students still choose to go through the training
rather than simply having on-the-job experience, There is no
required uniform national accreditation process for phar
-macy technician training programs, Some programs are in
dependently accredited by the American Society of Hospital
Pharmacists or other pharmacy organizations; some ate lo
cated in institutions that are themselves accredited even
though the individual training program is not accredited;
and some programs have no accreditation at all, Programs
are available involving face-to-face classroom and laboratory
‘trainings othersare available largely online. A voluntary cer
tification process is now available for pharmacy technicians
that involves completion ofa certification examination and
long-term maintenance of certification through regular con
‘inuing education. Although voluntary, this certification
process can help one stand out from other applicants by
demonstrating competency and commitment to the ja.
Salary
‘The salary for pharmacists is very good and varies according
to the specific area of practice and locaton, According tothe
Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary fora pharmacist,
was $113,390 per year in 2011 with the top 10% of pharma
cists making approximately $144,000 a year. This median
salary puts phacmacst third among health-care workers in