A departmental model for drug-usage evaluation

Using the departmental approach, the DUE process has been streamlined to involve one pharmacy discipline (e.g., etomidate, adult surgery), two or more disciplines (e.g., gamma globulin, adult medicine and pediatrics), or all disciplines (e.g., parenteral ranitidine evaluation) based on the extent of the drug-usage problem. The following advantages have been realized as a result of the departmental approach to DUE: the ability for all staff pharmacists to have input in the direction of the DUE program. At the Clinical Pharmacy Committee meetings, all pharmacists are given the opportunity to recommend drugs for usage evaluation. When a number of drug-usage problems are identified, DUEs are prioritized based on the workload of the pharmacists and the scope of the potential drug-use problem. the provision of service-specific evaluations of drug therapy. In addition to meeting the Joint Commission's regulations for DUE, these evaluations allow for each service to examine its individual compliance with the established standards. Service-specific action plans can then be developed to correct any deviations from acceptable practice. the ability to focus the evaluation on those patient populations primarily affected by the potential drug-use problem. the ability to maintain a systematic, ongoing DUE program while maintaining a service-specific approach to pharmacy practice. The satellite pharmacists have developed specialty or division-specific practices in pediatrics, adult medicine, or surgery. Using the matrix approach, pharmacists can contribute to DUE while maintaining a specialty practice.