Good-quality clinical pharmacy does not begin and end at the traditional barriers between hospital and community practice.
Primary-secondary care
interface
Community-based
pharmacy services are covered in Chapter 14. However, good-quality clinical
pharmacy does not begin and end at the traditional barriers between hospital
and community practice. The overall aim of such services is to provide patients
with a smooth transition as they move between the primary and secondary care
sectors during admission to, or discharge from, hospital, a process often
described as ‘seamless care’. The efficient and accurate transfer of information
is an essential part of this process if unintended changes in medication are to
be avoided. This needs to involve good communication links between other
hospital colleagues, general practitioners and community pharmacists in
addition to direct patient contact. Other clinical pharmacy services that can
contribute to seamless care include patient follow-up and domiciliary visiting,
coordinating appropriate use of compliance aids, the availability of telephone
helplines for patients and the establishment of joint primary–secondary care
treatment protocols managing intravenous medication at home, out-of-hours
services and influenza pandemic planning.
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