Definition, functions of hospital pharmacy, Organization structure

Definition of Hospital Pharmacy

Hospital pharmacy functions for receiving, storing, and dispensing drugs and medicines to patients. The hospital pharmacy may also manufacture pharmaceuticals and parenteral products. The department provides a range of pharmacy services for hospitalized and ambulatory patients, including purchase, manufacture, compounding, storage, dispensing, distribution, and maintaining records for the same.

Hospital pharmacy is the health care service, which comprises the art, practice, and profession of choosing, preparing, storing, compounding, and dispensing medicines and medical devices, advising healthcare professionals and patients on their safe, effective, and efficient use.

Functions of Hospital Pharmacy

The various functions performed by a hospital pharmacy are:
1) It attains a supply of drugs, chemicals, and biological and pharmaceutical formulations only from licensed vendors and manufacturers.
2) It inspects the received items and maintains an inventory for the same.
3) It dispenses drugs, chemicals, and pharmaceutical preparations to the patients. The pharmacists repack the medicament in appropriate containers and label them.
4) It keeps a record of all the narcotic drugs and alcohol received and issued.
5) It predicts the demand for drugs, chemicals, antibiotics, biologicals, radiopharmaceuticals, etc., and takes suitable steps to fulfill the demand.
6) It keeps a record of each supply dispensed.
7) It manufactures large volumes parenteral and other drug preparations in case of unavailability, high cost, or lack of authentic vendors or caution.
8) It implements strict control on the quality of the supplies received, manufactured, and dispensed.
9) It discusses the drug-related information with the medical staff, resident nurses, health care team, and the patients.
10) It participates in minimizing the incidence of illness and improves the general health of the population.
11) It provides patient counselling.
12) It implements the recommendations of the pharmacy and therapeutic committee.

Organization Structure

The hospital pharmacy has various divisions, like compounding and dispensing, manufacturing or production, quality control, central sterile supply, research, education and training, administration, and library.
The Chief Hospital Pharmacist is the head of the pharmacy who reports to the Administrator. The number of Assistant Chief Pharmacist, who assists the Chief in administration, depends on the work, nature, scope of operations, staff strength, etc. Assistant Chief Pharmacist supervises and controls the various functions of the pharmacy.

The Chief has a secretary and other office clerks to assist him. Staff pharmacists, technicians, pharmacy helpers, and other workers of the hospital pharmacy are involved in compounding, dispensing, manufacturing, drug supply, central sterile supply, and library duties.

Final Year B Pharm Notes, Syllabus, Books, PDF Subjectwise/Topicwise

Final Year B Pharm Sem VII	BP701T Instrumental Methods of Analysis Theory
BP702T Industrial Pharmacy Theory	BP703T Pharmacy Practice Theory
BP704T Novel Drug Delivery System Theory	BP705 P Instrumental Methods of Analysis Practical

Final Year B Pharm Sem VII	BP801T Biostatistics and Research Methodology Theory
BP802T Social and Preventive Pharmacy Theory	BP803ET Pharmaceutical Marketing Theory
BP804ET Pharmaceutical Regulatory Science Theory	BP805ET Pharmacovigilance Theory
BP806ET Quality Control and Standardization of Herbals Theory	BP807ET Computer-Aided Drug Design Theory
BP808ET Cell and Molecular Biology Theory	BP809ET Cosmetic Science Theory
BP810ET Experimental Pharmacology Theory	BP811ET Advanced Instrumentation Techniques Theory
BP812ET Dietary supplements and Nutraceuticals	Pharmaceutical Product Development