Clinical Pharmacy Services in Canadian Emergency Departments: A 2022 National Survey

Support for the role of an emergency department (ED) clinical pharmacy team is evidence-based and recognized in numerous professional guidelines, yet previous literature suggests a low prevalence of ED clinical pharmacy services in Canadian hospitals.

To update (from a survey conducted in 2013) the description and quantification of clinical pharmacy services in Canadian EDs.

All Canadian hospitals with an ED and at least 50 acute care beds were contacted to identify the presence of dedicated ED pharmacy services (defined as at least 0.5 full-time equivalent [FTE] position). Three separate electronic surveys were distributed by email to ED pharmacy team members (if available), pharmacy managers (at hospitals without an ED pharmacy team), and ED managers (all hospitals). The surveys were completed between November 2021 and January 2022.

Of the 254 hospitals identified, 117 (46%) had at least 0.5 FTE clinical pharmacy services in the ED (based on initial telephone screening). Of the 51 (44%) of 115 ED pharmacy team survey responses included in the analysis, 94% (48/51) had pharmacists and 55% (28/51) had pharmacy technicians. The majority of pharmacy managers and ED managers identified the need for ED pharmacy services where such services did not exist. Inadequate funding, competing priorities, and lack of training remain the most commonly reported barriers to providing this service. Personal safety concerns were reported by 20% (10/51) of respondents.

Although the establishment of clinical pharmacy services in Canadian EDs has grown over the past 8 years, lack of funding and ED-specific training continue to limit this evidence-supported role in Canadian hospitals.