Pharmacists are healthcare professionals responsible for supplying medicines in the most

economical and effective way possible. It is an applied medical science with pharmacists
constantly monitoring the quality, safety and the use of medicines, requiring a high level of
involvement and interaction with patients. It is a career that involves life-long learning as
pharmacists must also keep up to date with new drugs and treatments. They need to have a
strong knowledge of legislation and professional codes of practice. There are three main areas
of work for the modern pharmacist: working closely with doctors, hospital pharmacists are
responsible for the ordering, quality testing, storing and security of drugs and medicines in
hospitals. They must also ensure an adequate supply of medicine. Retail or community
pharmacists supply prescribed and over-the-counter medicines to the general public in a retail
pharmacy (such as a local chemist), giving advice to customers on the safe use of medicines and
possible side effects. Industrial pharmacists work in pharmaceutical companies where they help
to discover safe and effective new drugs, develop them into effective medicines, and market
the finished product to customers. Hospital pharmacists are experts in the field of medicines,
how they're used and their effect on the human body. As well as being responsible for
dispensing prescriptions, pharmacists are involved in the purchasing and quality testing of
medicines. They may also manufacture medicines, as in some cases treatments need to be
tailor made for individual patients.

You'll work closely with medical and nursing staff to make sure hospital patients receive the
best treatment, advising on the selection, dose and type of administration. You'll also provide
help and advice to patients in all aspects of their medicines.

While most hospital pharmacists are based within NHS or private hospitals, the role can extend
beyond this with responsibility for medicines in health centres, nursing homes, hospices and
general practitioners' (GP) surgeries. And Hospital pharmacists are experts in medicines who
work as part of multidisciplinary healthcare teams to manage the use of medicines in hospitals.
Clinical hospital pharmacists are embedded into medical wards and units and provide clinical
pharmacy services to patients at the bedside, with each clinical pharmacist (or a team of) being
responsible for patient care in a particular medical unit or ward.

Hospital pharmacists provide clinical pharmacy services at the bedside to inpatients, as well as
other clinical areas such as emergency departments and outpatient clinics alongside doctors
and nurses. They primarily work in hospitals however, innovation in hospital pharmacy practice
has led to the emergence of pharmacists working in community health services, aged care
facilities, rehabilitation facilities and general practice clinics.

Roles can vary to suit the organisation and clinical needs of the hospital pharmacy. The majority
of hospital pharmacists provide clinical services in their area of speciality however, they can
apply their skills in other roles including directors of pharmacy, procurement officers, hospital
pharmacy consultants. Education roles are also prevalent such as lecturing pre-registered
trainees, delivering presentations to other medical staff or providing tutorial support to
undergraduate pharmacy students.
Hospital pharmacists ensure the safe and effective use of medicines by:

carrying out medication reconciliation on admissions and during changes in the level of care.
Many hospital patients require complex and specialised medicines which are often not seen
outside a hospital. These patients rely on the hospital pharmacist for information to ensure
they know how to use their medicines. This is a vital aspect of the provision of healthcare, as it
can reduce medication errors and hospital readmission resulting in an overall improvement in
patient satisfaction.
working in multidisciplinary teams with other health professionals such as doctors and nurses
to advise on prescribing and address medicines-related problems.
dispensing medicines.
compounding and manufacturing medicines when ready-made preparations are not
available.
conducting medication chart reviews, therapeutic drug monitoring and managing adverse
drug reactions to ensure medicines work as required.
providing comprehensive counselling to patients when they leave the hospital, to ensure
patients leave with their medicines, updated medication list and medication management plan
to aid the transition back into the community.
undertaking and contributing to hospital-wide governance activities through medication
safety and Quality Use of Medicine activities, eg drug use evaluations, stewardship programs
for high-risk medicines. Responsibilities

As a hospital pharmacist, you'll need to:

check prescriptions for errors, ensuring they're appropriate and safe for the individual patient
provide advice on the dosage of medicines and the most appropriate form of medication,
which could be by tablet, injection, ointment or inhaler
participate in ward rounds to take patient drug histories
liaise with other medical staff on problems patients may experience when taking their
medicines
discuss treatments with patients' relatives, community pharmacists and GPs
make sure medicines are stored appropriately and securely
supervise the work of less experienced and less qualified staff
answer questions about medicines from within the hospital, other hospitals and the general
public
keep up to date with, and contribute to, research and development
write guidelines for drug use within the hospital and implement hospital regulations
provide information on expenditure on drugs
prepare and quality-check sterile medications, for example, intravenous medications
set up and supervise clinical trials.

When you have substantial experience, you may be involved in teaching, both within the
pharmacy department and in other areas of the hospital. Skills
 Analytical skills
Ability to think critically
Strong numerical skills
Attention to detail
Problem solving skills
Observation skills
Communication and social skills
Training and skills

To become a practising hospital pharmacist, individuals need to complete a pharmacy degree at

university. A pharmacist must then obtain a Provisional Registration and complete 1,824 hours
of supervised practice under an internship. A pharmacist can then apply for General
Registration with the Pharmacy Board of Australia after passing their final exams, which allows
them to work independently as a pharmacist in Australia.

Pharmacy is a career which requires continual education; the profession is always evolving,
therefore, is it important to keep up-to-date with new medicines, new treatments and new
skills. In order to be a registered pharmacist, annual Continuing Professional Development
(CPD) is mandatory.

The skills required to carry out the role include:

excellent oral and written communication skills for interacting with patients and other
healthcare professionals
ability to interpret and apply evidence-based research and scientific knowledge to solve
problems and make decisions
teamwork skills to be able to work in multidisciplinary teams
ability to lead and train others
attention to detail.

Specialty practice

Due to the various roles carried out, many hospital pharmacists specialise in areas of practice
such as oncology, haematology, compounding and medicines information after acquiring
clinical skills and knowledge specific to an area of practice.

SHPA has formally recognised 26 areas of specialty practice in Australia.

There are also extended roles in non-clinical settings which technicians can undertake:

perform final check on medicines in ‘tech-check-tech’ activities.

manage roles (managing a team, performance reviews, KPIs etc).

Training and skills

A pharmacy technician may have the following qualifications, or equivalent training and
experience:

Certificate III in Hospital/Health Services Pharmacy Support

Certificate IV in Hospital/Health Services Pharmacy Support

Pharmacy technicians may be required to undertake validation or credentialing in specialised

activities such as compounding (non-sterile, aseptic, and cytotoxic), procurement, inventory
management, provision of ward-based supply, tech-check-tech or clinical support roles, clinical
trials etc depending on institutional or state-based legislative requirements.

The skills required to carry out the role of a hospital pharmacy technician include:

good communication skills for interacting with other healthcare professionals and patients
ability to follow directions and instructions in a team environment but also have the ability to
work autonomously and manage own workload when required
high level of accuracy when dispensing prescriptions and supplying inpatient medicines
strong teamwork skills to work in hospital pharmacy dispensaries.

The future of hospital pharmacy technicians

Comparised with other countries, Australia is less advanced in its use of hospital pharmacy
technicians. The future of the role involves formal upskilling of technicians and a clear pathway
to career progression. This will standardise the pharmacy technician role across the country to
deliver equitable care to improve patient outcomes.
SHPA initiatives relating to hospital technicians

National Pharmacy Technician Network (NPTN) established to provide a unified and

nationally consistent approach to the issues facing pharmacy technicians and assistants in both
a professional and educational context
Pharmacy Technician and Assistant Role Redesign within Australian Hospitals Project (Phase 1
2016)
SHPA White Paper: Exploring the role of hospital pharmacy technicians and assistants to
enhance the delivery of patient-centred care (November 2016)
Constitutional change: expanded voting membership for technicians/assistants (September
2017)
Pharmacy Technician and Assistant Role Redesign within Australian Hospitals Project (Phase
II, 2017–18): delivering on the five recommendations from the White Paper arising from the
Phase 1 Redesign Project
Hospital pharmacy departments

Hospital pharmacy departments are embedded in hospital sites and are an integral part of
patient care in hospitals.
A hospital pharmacy department typically comprises of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians,
who undertake a variety of clinical and non-clinical tasks including:

procuring, compounding and dispensing medicines

advising healthcare professionals and patients on safe, effective and quality use of medicines.

Hospital pharmacy departments usually consist of:

inpatient and outpatient dispensaries

manufacturing and compounding facilities
drug information services
Quality use of Medicine services
stewardship services
clinical trial services.

A hospital pharmacy departments provide different services based on their relative size, ie a
large metropolitan hospital may employ many pharmacists and pharmacy support staff and
deliver a broad range of services, whereas, a small rural hospital pharmacy department may
have only one or two pharmacists on site.
The role of hospital pharmacy departments

SHPA members lead the pharmacy departments at the vast majority of the 31 principal referral
hospitals in Australia, as well as the vast majority of both Public Acute A and Public Acute B
hospitals. Therefore, members are concerned with not only the provision of service but the
patient outcomes attributable to the practice of hospital pharmacies.

Hospital pharmacy departments offer vast opportunities for SHPA members who want to
practice in an environment which draws on the full range of their professional education and
training.

Given that 22% of PBS expenditure was accounted for by public and private hospital pharmacy
departments in 2016–17, hospital pharmacy plays important role in supporting equitable
medicine access and providing high-quality, innovative clinical pharmacy care for all Australians
to achieve objectives outlined in the National Medicines Policy.

Hospital pharmacies are where most Australian clinical pharmacy research is undertaken and
are involved with the education and training of pharmacists and pharmacy students.
Key functions include:

ensuring the availability of the right medication, at the right time, in the right dose, for
inpatients, outpatients and patients when leaving the hospital
maintaining hospital formulary to procure medicines, vaccines and intravenous fluids and
storing them according to legal, regulatory and storage requirements
manufacturing and distributing imprest and non-imprest medicines
 compounding specialised injections, infusion and oral mixtures
dispensing discharge prescription medicines and providing education and counselling to
patients
providing hospital pharmacy residency programs for early-career pharmacists
providing intern training programs and student placements for prospective pharmacists in
training
undertaking hospital-wide governance activities related to the use of medicines through
quality use of medicines and medication safety activities such as drug use evaluations and
stewardship programs for high-risk medicines, e.g. opioids, antimicrobials, anticoagulants
managing and administering clinical trials and participate in research projects
providing medicines information services to the entire hospital.

Hospital pharmacy departments – structure and operation

Hospital pharmacy departments are led by a director of pharmacy or chief pharmacist.

The structure of a pharmacy department varies to suit the organisational and clinical needs of
the hospital. Pharmacists account for the bulk of pharmacy departments and are integral to
hospital pharmacy departments. Pharmacy department support staff – such as pharmacy
technicians, PBS claims officers and procurement officers – are also important to support the
operations of a hospital pharmacy department.

Hospital pharmacy departments are usually only open business hours with variable and limited
after-hours services, often due to limited staff resources

This means it is not always possible for all inpatients to be seen and reviewed by a clinical
pharmacist which can impact the care delivered to a patient and can also be a barrier to
patients receiving medicines supply at discharge. SHPA supports the need for seven-day
hospital pharmacy services.
How does hospital pharmacy differ to community pharmacy?

Hospital pharmacy practice fundamentally differs from community pharmacy practice in the
following ways:

a higher level of interaction between prescribers and other health professionals in hospital
pharmacy
greater involvement of hospital pharmacists in the treatment and prescribing decisions, being
able to provide direct advice to prescribers
a large team of hospital pharmacists working together at the same institution
hospital pharmacists are specialised in specific areas of practice in line with medical
specialisations like oncology, respiratory and renal medicine.
Activities beyond clinical patient care include:
 educating and training healthcare staff at various levels and patients about medicines
management, common drug interactions and appropriate medicines administration
providing specialised services in medicines information, procurement, quality assurance of
medicines
working at the forefront of innovative and experimental care by investigating medicines in
clinical trials.

Most patients will see a pharmacist during their hospital admission. Patients often experience
significant changes to their medicines in hospital, and hospital pharmacists are an important
source of information.

Hospital pharmacists are usually the last health professional a patient sees before leaving the
hospital and are tasked with ensuring patients understand how to manage their
medicine.Hospital pharmacists can help educate patients:

about complex drug therapies, the purpose of the medicine and how to take them
potential adverse effects and how to manage them
on the use of medicines in smoking cessation plans, cardiac rehabilitation, disease
management and other public health programs.

Hospital pharmacists are an important resource for doctors, nurses and allied health
practitioners. They:

attend ward rounds with doctors and nurses to provide advice on appropriate prescribing
and medicines selection
advise appropriate medicine administration routes and procedures, appropriate dosing and
provide solutions which are tailored to individual patient’s needs
review discharge prescriptions written by doctors to ensure that they are accurate and that
the doctor has satisfied all legal and PBS requirements so that it is appropriate for dispensing.