Pharmacist-Managed Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Programs within Australian Hospital and Health Services—A National Survey of Current Practice

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Firman, Paul
Tan, Ken-Soon
Clavarino, Alexandra
Taing, Meng-Wong
Whitfield, Karen
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2022
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Abstract

Pharmacist-managed therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) services have demonstrated positive outcomes in the literature, including reduced duration of therapy and decreased incidence of the adverse effects of drug therapy. Although the evidence has demonstrated the benefits of these TDM services, this has predominately been within international healthcare systems. The extent to which pharmacist-managed TDM services exist within Australia, and the roles and responsibilities of the pharmacists involved compared to their counterparts in other countries, remains largely unknown. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted evaluating pharmacist-managed TDM programs within Australian hospital and healthcare settings. Pharmacist perceptions were also explored about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and barriers associated with implementing a pharmacist-managed TDM service. A total of 92 surveys were returned, which represents a response rate of 38%. Pharmacist-managed TDM programs were present in 15% of respondents. It is only in the minority of hospitals where there is a pharmacist-managed service, with pharmacists involved in recommending pathology and medication doses. The programs highlighted improved patient outcomes but had difficulty maintaining the educational packages and training. For hospitals without a service, a lack of funding and time were highlighted as barriers. Based on the findings of this survey, there is minimal evidence of pharmacist-managed TDM models within Australian hospital and health services. A standardized national approach to pharmacist-managed TDM services and recognition of this specialist area for pharmacists could be a potential solution to this.

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Pharmacy

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10

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5

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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences

Science & Technology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Pharmacology & Pharmacy

clinical pharmacy

hospital pharmacy

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Firman, P; Tan, K-S; Clavarino, A; Taing, M-W; Whitfield, K, Pharmacist-Managed Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Programs within Australian Hospital and Health Services—A National Survey of Current Practice, Pharmacy, 2022, 10 (5), pp. 135

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