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Professor Department of Pharmacy Practice & Science, College of Pharmacy, The University of Arizona, 1295 N. Martin - Pulido, PO Box 210207, Tucson, AZ 85721, fax 520/626-7355, erstad{at}pharmacy.arizona.edu
Reprints: Dr. Erstad
The intensive care unit (ICU) continues to be a major focus of decentralized pharmacy activities in health systems that care for critically ill patients. This is not surprising, given the need for rapid decision-making involving unstable patients, the large number of powerful medications typically used per patient, the high cost of many drugs used in the ICU and, most importantly, the evidence demonstrating the benefits of having a pharmacist as part of an interdisciplinary team. The purpose of this paper is to highlight important issues to consider when introducing or developing critical care pharmacy services beginning with the establishment of basic services and continuing through practitioner development, guideline/protocol development and implementation, patient safety, residency training, and research.
Key Words: critical care, interdisciplinary pharmacy practice
Published Online, November 18, 2008. www.theannals.com, DOI 10.1345/aph.1L375
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