Final Draft 11-30-95
Revised March 1997
Narrative
General Considerations
Current Direction
Off-site mail prescription services will become
The pharmacy department serves both the
more common reducing on-site pharmacy
inpatient and outpatient environments.
storage requirements and goals of face-to-face
interaction between pharmacist and patient will
The inpatient component usually consists of a
be compromised.
large centralized facility.
At the present time there are two schools of
VA Hospitals usually have separate outpatient
thought about how Pharmacy Service should
pharmacies.
deal with patients. Some facilities are very
concerned with security and deal with users
Ambulatory Care Center pharmacies are often
through a secure dispensing area.
Other
leased and operated by a separate entity in the
facilities prefer face-to-face relationships with
private sector, VA maintains direct control of
their patients with no barriers similar to a local
their hospital based inpatient and outpatient
drug store.
The final decision should be
pharmacies as a component of managed care.
determined by the user - the medical center.
Trends
Data may be compiled for drug efficacy testing
More "just in time" deliveries from the vendor
and establishment of treatment protocols.
resulting in less need for long-term storage.
Functional Considerations
More enhanced communications systems
Operations: Services
throughout the hospital with faster response to
Pharmacy service is responsible for the
needs.
controlled dispensing of all drugs required in the
delivery of health care. Service includes the
Better automated delivery systems will be
total drug utilization review process.
available for transporting medications.
Pharmacy services are coordinated with clinical
Decentralized clinical "product-line" pharmacies
services and organized into the Outpatient
will be considered where volumes and activities
Pharmacy and the Inpatient Pharmacy.
warrant.
Inpatient and outpatient pharmacies may be
Inpatient satellite pharmacies within Cardiac
combined in one facility where justified by
Services, Oncology, Neurology, Intensive Care,
workloads and adjacencies of outpatient and
and other departments will be considered.
inpatient services and staffing.
NHCU or Long Term Care Facility needs may
Patient Care Concepts
be served as a satellite to a hospital pharmacy.
Patient Participation concepts educate and
inform the patient of their options to insure their
Automated medications dispensing machines
participation in the decision and healing process.
will be utilized for routine medications, and may
provide
automatic
inventory
control/
Patient Focused Care decentralized pharmacy
benchmarking billing.
services where practical to bring these services
closer to the patient.
Pharmaceutical research may result in the need
for fewer procedures in a number of patient care
Incorporating a Pharmacist in the Patient Care
areas, including surgery.
Team helps to implement patient participation
and patient focused care and is in itself a goal of
the VA to improve the quality and effectiveness
of Pharmacy Services.
VA DESIGN GUIDE
PHARMACY SERVICE
PAGE 2-1
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