Clinical pharmacy interventions: an optimum way to accomplish positive patient care outcome.

In this age of demand for optimum quality of care and shortened length of patient stay in the hospital, the opportunities for clinical pharmacy interventions are enormous. Pharmacists, with their unique background in clinical therapeutics, can make a significant difference in patient outcome. As in our case, initially there may be some skepticism among some of the physicians about the intent of pharmacy interventions. However, pharmacists' continual striving for improvement of quality of care can persuade skeptical physicians to consider pharmacists as their allies in achieving optimum quality of care. At our institution, our consistent approach has resulted in support from our physicians. Continuous feedback from managers to staff pharmacists (our monthly performance review feedback program) also helps to continue consistency of the program. The recent focus of the Joint Commission on optimum quality of care has also created an arena of tremendous opportunities for pharmacists to work with the physicians and other health care professionals to accomplish excellence in quality of care.