The adverse drug reaction: a clinical opportunity for pharmacists

A program is presented that gives the pharmacist the clinical opportunity to assess and evaluate adverse drug reactions in the hospital setting. An adverse drug reaction protocol is discussed that addresses reporting and patient care issues. The pharmacist performs adverse drug reaction assessment at the patient bedside as part of a multidisciplinary team consisting of the pharmacist, nurse, and physician. The protocol provides a method of concurrent adverse drug reaction monitoring and involves the patient in the reporting process.