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Pharmacy Services in a Federal Extended Care Facility, as Provided by a Pharmacy Student
Author(s) -
III WILLIAM L. GLENN,
PATRY ROLAND A.,
KROEGER RUTH
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1978.tb01346.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pharmacy , medical prescription , documentation , family medicine , drug allergy , clinical pharmacy , nursing , drug , pharmacology , computer science , programming language
The objective of this study was to identify the role of the pharmacy student in providing health care to a Federal Nursing Home Care Unit. Under the supervision of a graduate pharmacy resident, the student was responsible for monitoring compliance in drug therapy, providing consultation services, and developing several research projects. A detailed study of allergy documentation in 78 patients showed that 25.6 percent of their records indicated drug allergies, but upon further investigation only 5.1 percent could be confirmed. Fourteen (41 percent) of the 34 reported allergy‐producing substances had been administered again after the initial allergic incident, without ensuing difficulties. Evaluation of the self‐medication program indicated that 71.4 percent of 14 study patients could not easily open their child‐proof medicine containers. A change to “tight” containers enhanced the patients' ability to open them. However, no significant conclusions could be drawn regarding improvement in the patients' compliance with prescription directions. Pharmacy students can be a valuable resource in improving documentation, testing drug prescription compliance, and participating in the general care of patients in long‐term facilities.