Consultant Pharmacy Essay

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Consultant pharmacy focuses on medication management and improved health outcomes for elderly patients. During this panel, I was able to expand my limited knowledge about consultant pharmacy and learn about the opportunities in this segment of pharmacy.
Traditionally the consultant pharmacists have been working in nursing homes. They assessed drug regimens on a monthly basis. During this panel, I learnt that the role of consultant pharmacists has expanded beyond nursing homes. They now also provided drug regimen reviews in adult homes, group homes, adult day health care programs, and assisted living facilities. Some also offer services to private individuals. The panelists mentioned that pharmacists being the drug experts have to be credible …show more content…

One of the advantages mentioned was that consultant pharmacy allows the pharmacists to utilize all the clinical skills and knowledge gained in the pharmacy school. While providing Medication Therapy Management (MTM), they review the patient’s complete medical record and their drug list. They use their clinical knowledge to make sure there is no unnecessary medication being administered to the patient, the doses are appropriate and there are no drug-drug or drug disease interactions. I found this interesting because we learn so much in detail about the various drugs and diseases states in Drugs and Diseases classes and consultant pharmacy gives an opportunity to utilize that knowledge. In order to make sure that the most cost effective treatment is being provided to the patients, the consultant pharmacists have to constantly update themselves about the medications and their prices. This intrigues me as I am a person who likes to constantly learn new things. Another advantage that the panelists mentioned was the flexibility of hours. Their responsibilities allow them to work full-time or part-time or also from home. This flexibility definitely makes it easier to balance professional and personal life. Moreover, the panelists also mentioned that the emergence of electronic health records have also allowed them to get more involved in the patient care

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