Pharmacy involvement in patient-focused care in Florida hospitals

Hospital pharmacy directors in Florida were surveyed to determine the effects of patient-focused care on pharmacy practice. In a statewide mail survey in 1994, directors were asked whether their hospital had implemented patient-focused care or was planning to, what factors influenced this, whether and how the pharmacy was involved, what changes in structure and services resulted, and how they perceived the impact of patient-focused care on the practice of hospital pharmacy. They were asked to identify specific programs, interdisciplinary teams, and opportunities associated with patient-focused care programs. Usable surveys were returned by 148 respondents (48.8% response rate). Fifty-three (35.8%) of the respondents had implemented patient-focused care and 50 (34%) were planning to ; 82.5% of these respondents (85 of 103) said pharmacists were involved in the planning efforts. Respondents said hospital administration was most often responsible for initiating patient-focused care, and cost was the top-ranked reason. For pharmacy, patient-focused care brought more interdisciplinary activities and new services. Florida hospital pharmacy directors thought patient-focused care would change the practice of pharmacy and that the change would be positive.