Pharmacy Act, 1974 (Act No. 53 of 1974)Board NoticesCompetency Standards in South AfricaCompetency Standards for a Specialist Pharmacist who provides Clinical Pharmacy Services in South Africa1. Introduction |
Clinical pharmacy is aimed at the development and promotion of rational and appropriate use of medicines and pharmaceutical care, in the interest of the patient and the community. Patients with advanced disease have multiple symptoms, and treatment becomes complicated. This makes it difficult for patients and/or their carers to manage their medicines which leads to symptoms being inadequately controlled and a low level of therapeutic compliance. Pharmacists have the responsibility to identify, resolve, and prevent each patient’s therapeutic problems. These responsibilities are met by using the caring paradigm in a patient-centred manner.
Pharmaceutical care mandates that pharmacists should not only dispense medicines but also assume the responsibility of improving the quality of life of patients and improving therapy outcomes.
Pharmaceutical care within a clinical pharmacy context as practiced within a multidisciplinary team involves the implementation of the following steps:
| (a) | Assessment of patient health and formulation of treatment plans. |
| (b) | Monitoring of patient’s response to therapy to ensure optimum therapeutic outcomes. |
| (c) | Performing medicine reviews to detect and resolve medicine-related problems. |
| (d) | Documentation of the care provided and provision of advice to patients in a way that patients understand. |