A Berhane, E Ali, O Peggy, S Suleman.
University of Gondar,
Clinical Pharmacy,Gondar, Ethiopia; Jimma University, Health Services Planning
and Management,Jimma, Ethiopia; Washington, School of Pharmacy, Seatle, USA; Jimma
University,School of Pharmacy, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Eur J Hosp Pharm 2013;20(Suppl
1):A1–A238
Background Patient-centred clinical pharmacy practise has
developed internationally to expand the role of a pharmacist well beyond the
traditional roles of compounding, dispensing and supplying drugs, though it is
poorly developed in Africa. Implementation of patient-centred practise is an
important goal for maximizing the utility of the profession. But, studies on
the work done by pharmacists in inpatient wards in resource-constrained
settings are scarce.
Purpose To assess
ward-based clinical pharmacy services in an internal medicine ward of Jimma
University Specialist Hospital.
Materials and Methods The study was carried out on the internal medicine
ward from March to April, 2011 at Jimma University Specialist Hospital. It was
a prospective observational study. Clinical pharmacy interns providing
pharmaceutical care to inpatients twice per week over a 2-month period were
documented. Interventions optimising rational drug use and their acceptance
were recorded. The clinical signifi cance of interventions was evaluated by an
independent team (1 internist, 1 pharmacologist). Results of the study were
reported in the form of fi ndings and percentages.
Results A total
of 149 drug-related interventions for 48 patients was documented. Of these, 133
(89.3%) were clinical pharmacy intern-initiated interventions and 16 (10.7%)
were interventions initiated by another health care professional. The most
frequent drug-related problems (DRPs) underlying interventions were unnecessary
drug treatment 36 (24.2%), additional drug treatment needed 34 (22.8%) and
noncompliance 29 (19.5%). The most frequent type of intervention was change of
dose/instruction for use, 23 (15.4%). 68.4% of interventions were fully accepted
and 29.3% were partially accepted. Interventions with major and moderate
clinical significance numbered 46 (49.5%) and 25 (26.9%) respectively.
Conclusions A clinical pharmacist contributes to improved
inpatient treatment, even with a modest contribution such as participation in
the pre-round meeting and the ward round twice per week.
Category of drug-related problem* Interventions, n (%
of total)
Unnecessary drug treatment 36 (24.2%)
Additional drug treatment 34 (22.8%)
Ineffective drug 4 (2.7%)
Dose too low 18 (12.1%)
Adverse drug
reaction 16 (10.7%)
Dose too high 12 (8%)
Noncompliance
29 (19.5%)
Total 149 (100%)
