Clinical Pharmacology & Biopharmaceutics
Open Access

Abstract

The pharmacy sector is important in any country because it consumes a high proportion of health system expenditures. Therefore, it is a challenge for governments to ensure easy access to a safe and stable supply of pharmaceuticals at the lowest possible cost. A high expenditure on drugs is notable in many health systems especially those in the developing countries where it may reach a high percentage ( 25%) of the running costs of their ministries of health. Hospital pharmacies are the largest consumers in the pharmacy sector, so it is important for policy-makers to be aware of the importance of providing effective pharmacy services with rational and safe use of medications. Clinical pharmacy services are the building blocks of modern hospital pharmacy, and hospital pharmacists are a vital part of the clinical team, helping to ensure that drugs are used in the best way from the safety, efficacy and economic points of view. Adoption of a proper drug dispensing system (DDS) is a top priority for any hospital to ensure cost-effective drug management process in that hospital. There are many types of drug dispensing systems, including ward stock and unit dose systems, that could be adopted to achieve this goal. In a ward-stock DDS, drugs are dispensed from the pharmacy to the hospital departments and stored in the departments? stocks and then used by nurses according to physicians? orders. In a unit-dose DDS, drugs are dispensed in amounts that fulfill the needs of each individual patient for only 24 hours. The unit-dose DDS was developed in the 1960s to support nurses in administration of medication, to provide nurses and pharmacists with more time for patient care and to reduce wastage of increasingly expensive medications. Now unit-dose dispensing of medications is standard practice in many hospitals around the world. The study was aiming to assess which DDS was more appropriate based on a comparison between a hospital using the unit- dose DDS and another using a ward-stock DDS. It concluded that unit-dose DDS appeared to be safer, with fewer missing drugs, was more positively perceived by staff and was more supportive of good clinical pharmacy practice.

Biography

Mokhlis Al Adham is a Pharmacist from Palestine. He has completed his master degree in Public Health ( Health Management track) from Al Quds University-Jerusalem in 2008 with a GPA of 91.7% (First Class). Now, he is working as a vice pharmacy director at Al Shifa Medical Complex (the largest hospital in Palestine). Also, he is working as a part-time lecturer at the faculty of applied medical sciences-Al Azhar University, Gaza. Moreover he is a member in the Quality Improvement Committee at Al Shifa hospital and served as a member in many temporary committees that were formed by the ministry of health (Emergency response committees). Mr. Al adham is highly interested in managerial problems ( challenges) that face the Palestinian health system ( mainly pharmacy related ones ) and working hard to help in solving them. He published one paper in the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMHJ), and is preparing to publish a second one. He is highly interested in drug dispensing systems and clinical pharmacy related issues, and really eager to share you the clinical pharmacy and dispensing conference.