PLANNING FOR PHARMACEUTICAL CARE

The process for planning a pharmaceutical care practice model at the U niversity of California-San Diego Medical Center (UCSDMC) is described . Pharmaceutical care is viewed as a health care need, analogous to me dical care or dental care. Provision of such care requires that pharma cists have a generalist, rather than specialist, orientation and be he ld responsible for the outcomes of drug therapy. The scope of pharmace utical care encompasses all treatment settings, emphasizing continuity of care from one setting to another. Its goal is to address the total pharmaceutical care needs of all patients. A pharmaceutical care task force was appointed to develop an overall plan for the implementation of the pharmaceutical care concept at UCSDMC. Several key practice el ements were identified that served as the basis for the practice model . A three-week pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of implementin g a pharmaceutical care program. An implementation plan was then devel oped. The program is currently being implemented. A long-range plan fo r implementing a pharmaceutical care practice model was developed thro ugh introspection, consensus building, and redirection of professional efforts.