Clinical Pharmacy in Family Practice
Clinical Pharmacy in Family Practice John P. Geyman, MD One of the innovative directions in family prac services has been high.2 Similar collaborative ef tice during the last several years has been the in forts between family practice and clinical phar troduction of clinical pharmacists into some teach macy have been reported in other medical schools, ing and community practices. This is not surpris such as the Medical University of South Carolina2; ing in view of recent changes in pharmacy educa and in community hospital based family practice tion and practice, which have expanded the clini residencies, such as Family Medicine Spokane in cal training of clinical pharmacists and increased Washington State.4 the range of services which they provide. There With regard to community practices, several are growing numbers of clinical pharmacists in questions are immediately raised concerning this teaching hospitals, outpatient clinics, mental kind of interdisciplinary practice, including ethical health centers, and other institutional settings.1 and economic issues, if dispensing of drugs is to be Although the entry of clinical pharmacists into the carried out; also, logistic and procedural ques relatively smaller group settings of family practice tions; cost-benefit questions; and questions re is still an early trend, the experience to date in garding satisfaction of patients, physicians, and both teaching and community practice settings is pharmacists. Of particular interest in terms of how extremely positive. these questions have been resolved in one practice In this issue of The Journal, Love and his col is the report of Davis and his colleagues of their leagues describe the role and contributions of a experience since 1976 in a rural-suburban family clinical pharmacist in the university based family practice in Lexington, South Carolina.5 This prac practice residency program at the University of tice includes two family physicians and one clin Kentucky.
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