COURSE OBJECTIVES

Clinical pharmacy is defined as an area of pharmacy concerned with the science and practice of rational medication use. Clinical pharmacy is a health science discipline in which pharmacists provide patient care that optimizes medication therapy and promotes health, and disease prevention. The practice of clinical pharmacy embraces the philosophy of pharmaceutical care, blending a caring orientation with specialized therapeutic knowledge, experience, and judgment to ensure optimal patient outcomes. As a discipline, clinical pharmacy also has an obligation to contribute to the generation of new knowledge that advances health and quality of life.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (CLO)

CLO: 1. To explain the role of different professions and work on a ward, and reflect on the clinical pharmacist’s professional role.
CLO: 2. To Discuss drugs profiles of the most commonly prescribed drugs and their use in in-patient and outpatient department.
CLO: 3. To examine the process of clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance.

COURSE CONTENTS

  1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO CLINICAL PHARMACY:
    • Introduction to clinical pharmacy and related terms, definition, basic components, comparison with other clinical fields, scope of services.
    • General guidelines for clinical pharmacy practice.
    • Patient Counseling Compliance
    • Laboratory Data interpretation
    • Electrolytes management
    • Clinical literature evaluation
    • Drug interactions
    • Medication errors
  2. PATIENT PROFILE & PATIENT COUNSELING:
    • Patient disease profile
    • Taking case history
    • Drug Profile of at least 25 Important Medications e.g. Adrenaline, Aminoglycosides, Anti TB Drugs, Antiepileptics, Atropine, Benzodiazepines, Cepahlosporins, Chlorpheniramine, Cimetidine, Digoxin, Dobutamine, Dopamine, Fluroquinolone, Frusemide, Lactulose, Macrolides, Metoclopramide, Morphine/Pethedine, Nifedipine, NSAIDS, ORS, Penicillins, Prednisolone, Salbutamol, Vancomycin.
    • Patient Counseling
  3. CLINICAL TRIALS OF DRUG SUBSTANCES:
    • Designing of clinical trials, Types of trials, Choice of patients, Exclusion of patients and Monitoring a clinical trial.
  4. EMERGENCY TREATMENT:
    • For example, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Cold Blue.
  5. DRUG INTERACTIONS:
    • Mechanism, Physiological factors affecting interaction, Types and levelof drug interactions, Role of pharmacist in evaluating drug interaction & its management.
  6. PHARMACOVIGILANCE:
    • Scope, definition and aims of Pharmacovigilance
    • Adverse Drug Reactions and Side Effects: Classification, Excessive pharmacological response, Idiosyncrasy, Secondary pharmacological effects, Allergic drug reactions, Detection, Management of ADR, reporting of ADR in light of international health monitoring system.