Developing and implementing standards of practice for clinical pharmacy services

The authors' department has attempted to bring more order to the provision and evaluation of clinical services through the development of "Clinical Standards of Practice." A pilot project was initially conducted on one satellite. Pharmacists were asked to prepare a list of minimum standards that could be agreed upon and that everyone believed were achievable even on the busiest days. After standards were developed and implemented, a procedure was established to evaluate compliance through review of pharmacy records and patient materials. Staff received feedback concerning the results of the review. As a result of the success with the pilot, Clinical Standards of Practice have been developed by staff and are in use throughout the department. Plans for the future include continuous revision of the standards to reflect changing departmental goals and directions and a change to a "pharmacist specific" rather than a current "nursing unit specific" monthly review format to facilitate performance review and staff development. Eleven standards are shown in the appendices.