2012 Volume 13 Issue 3 Pages 145-150
In Nagara medical center, one pharmacist has been allocated to oversee pharmaceutical care at neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)/ growing care unit (GCU) from April 2008 after Items of Pharmaceutical Care were established in the center. The overseeing pharmacist was given charge of the NICU/GCU and checked every dosage of drug to all affected infants administered with therapeutic medicine in NICU/GCU. This pharmacist allotted an average of 2 hours a day on pharmaceutical care at NICU/GCU during her regular work hours. The analysis of the result of the survey which included the number of inquiries from doctors or nurses to the pharmacist and pharmaceutical interventions undergone by the pharmacist in the NICU/GCU revealed that the majority of the inquiries consisted of dosage checks, intravenous line check and planning, evidence confirmation and selection of drugs, therapeutic drug monitoring, and provision of information including characteristics of products. The questionnaire survey using doctors and nurses indicated a strong need for dosage check, injection drug composition advice and check, instruction of dosage and administration to patients' family at patient discharge. Also, the number of drug-related incidents in NICU/GCU decreased since the beginning of the pharmaceutical care.
Pharmaceutical care that could be provided by pharmacists and needed by other medical staff at NICU/GCU was revealed in this study. Furthermore, it was suggested that active involvement of pharmacist can lead to better safety management at NICU/GCU.
