The role of a residential aged care pharmacist: Findings from a pilot study

Abstract

Objective: To explore the feasibility of integrating a residential care pharmacist and describe the activities they subsequently undertake in an established residential aged care facility. Methods: A residential care pharmacist was integrated part-time (15 hours per week) into a 104-bed residential aged care facility in the Australian Capital Territory, for 6 months. The pharmacist documented all activities performed during the study period. Results: The residential care pharmacist documented 335.3 hours performing 284 activities. The two broad classes of activities were as follows: (1) organisation-oriented, which were system-level interventions to improve medication safety, and (2) resident-oriented, which were clinical interventions conducted at the individual level. The activities most frequently performed were pharmaceutical opinion, quality improvement and comprehensive medication review. The stakeholder and organisational demand for these activities indicated feasibility for the role. Conclusion: Pharmacists working collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary aged care team can perform a range of clinically and operationally beneficial activities.