New national standard for intensive care pharmacists

Leading guidelines on the provision of pharmacy services in intensive care have been comprehensively revised by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA), defining pharmacist-to-patient ratios and standardising national and state-based classifications. The standardised guidelines place pharmacists as key members of the multidisciplinary medical team caring for patients in the ICU.

Covering adult and paediatric practices, SHPA’s Standard of practice in intensive care for pharmacy services appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research (JPPR), alongside a complementary systematic review exploring the use of antimicrobials in prolonged intermittent renal replacement therapy (PIRRT), a hybrid form of dialysis increasingly used in critical care.

SHPA Critical Care Chair Melissa Ankravs said the clarification of health service levels allows for more precise pharmacist-to-patient ratios.

“By aligning the state-based approaches of New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia with the College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand (CICM) intensive care unit (ICU) service levels used in Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT and Northern Territory, we’re able to recommend staffing ratios across the country of 1:10 in larger, level 2/3 (CICM) services and a 1:15 ratio for smaller, level 1 (CICM) services,” Ankravs said.

“This is important to the consistent delivery of optimal patient care across Australia, as well as providing evidence of the increasingly complex cases and higher acuity patients we’re seeing, requiring clearer delineation regarding treatment intensity and care need.

“As part of this advancement a number of emerging services are now addressed, showing the expanding scope of practice for ICU pharmacists and their direct impact on patient care. We’ve also included new information on self-care and burnout minimisation, reflecting grow[ing] understanding of the pressures of working in ICU.”

The Standard, which is further supported by a systemic review by Matt Rawlins et al, was co-authored by members of the SHPA Critical Care Leadership Committee.

In a supporting editorial, the CICM Board Executive writes that, with the ever-increasing number of new drugs prescribed in the community, and the time-critical nature of intensive care practice, the ICU pharmacist is an important resource for medical and nursing staff.

“The role of the ICU pharmacist has been repeatedly shown to reduce the adverse effects arising from poor practice in relation to drug prescription and administration, to improve patient outcomes and to reduce healthcare costs.

“The ICU pharmacist is also invaluable for providing advice on medications unfamiliar to the average intensive care clinician, such as those prescribed for oncological and immunological conditions,” the Executive wrote.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Valerii