Highlights of German Hospital Pharmacy

ACPE UAN: 0475-0000-15-030-L04-P.  A knowledge based activity.

Abstract

The current strategic plan of the German Association of Hospital Pharmacists (ADKA) entitled “Hospital pharmacists enlarge the benefit of drug therapy for each patient” comprises 22 thesis concerning different aspects of hospital pharmacy. Categories of aspects are safety and quality of drug therapy, drug information, educational matters, preparation of medicinal products, pharmaceutical logistics and economic aspects of drug therapy. For a variety of these issues, guidelines have been developed by ADKA as responsible professional society.

The German approach combines the traditional tasks of pharmaceutical logistics and drug preparation with patient-oriented clinical services. Nationwide initiatives will be presented by members of ADKA’s special interest groups as examples for good hospital pharmacy practice in Germany.

1. Drug information service, KAMPI

• AMINFO-database: internet-based database for documentation and quality management of drug information services in hospital pharmacies in Germany, Switzerland and Austria;
• systematic documentation of requests, search strategies, results;
• platform for sharing answers with registered users;
• “KAMPI”: training and support project for drug information services; Support Drug information Centre for German hospital pharmacies;
• benefit of the tools for hospital pharmacies and patients.

2. Antibiotic stewardship (ABS)

• clinical pharmacists in a multidisciplinary ABS Team;
• legal background (“Infektionsschutzgesetz”, law on the Prevention of Infection);
• education (ABS Curriculum);
• German ABS guideline;
• surveillance of Antibiotics consumption (ADKA-if-RKI project).

3. Closed loop medication, seamless care

• “Aktionsbündnis Patientensicherheit” (national interdisciplinary initiative for patient safety);
• Nationwide consented medication plan for patients (content, form, electronic and paper-based versions);
• Seamless care initiatives of German hospital pharmacies – Intramural closed loop medication system (electronic prescribing, unit-dose distribution, electronic documentation of application);
• Transmural clinical pharmacy services (taking medication histories, medication review, management of discharge medication).

4. Clinical pharmacists’ interventions for patient safety

• ADKA-DokuPIK: national, anonymous, self-reported, internet-based documentation system for pharmacists’ interventions (PIs) as well as medication errors;
• continuous optimization in terms of data entry and evaluation;
• validated tool: 90% agreement;
• developed in 2008, with about 50,000 PIs entered within the first five years;
• vast majority of suggested PIs are implemented into patient drug treatment resulting in an optimization of drug treatment

5. Education/teacher practitioner

• Hospital pharmacists as teacher practitioners in Clinical Pharmacy, Student education e.g. Bed-side-teaching, problem based learning, training pharmacy, OSCE;
• Ph D. students in hospital pharmacies, annual meeting of the Ph.D. students with short communications;
• Update of the Curriculum for post-graduate education which is affiliated with the chambers of Pharmacy;
• Continuous education organized by the German Society of Hospital Pharmacy, annual congress, different awards for scientific projects

Teaching Goals:

• to illustrate German hospital pharmacists’ initiatives for improving patient safety; 
• to report efforts for innovative, nationwide concepts for hospital pharmacists. 

Learning Objectives:

After the presentation the participant should:

• review aspects of the German hospital pharmacy system and projects implemented by the German Society of Hospital Pharmacy ADKA e.V.;
• be able to compare good practice initiatives in German hospital pharmacies with pharmacy services in his own country;
• be able to identify projects and colleagues in Germany for further exchange and eventually co-operations.