Emergency Department Pharmacist
Congratulations to the 3 Emergency Department Pharmacist funding projects that were selected after completing the two-stage blinded selection process with an interdisciplinary jury. There were 41 project submissions, many thanks to everyone who got involved.
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Hospital Pharmacy Klinikum Hanau
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Hospital Pharmacy Schwarzwald-Baar-Klinikum Villingen-Schwenningen
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Hospital pharmacies Ubbo-Emmius-Klinik Aurich and Klinikum Emden
We wish the selected hospital pharmacies a successful project period together with your emergency department and look forward to a productive collaboration.
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Project coordination:
Benjamin Hellinger, Leipzig
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Selected hospital pharmacies
Hanau, from left to right: Bianca Partheymüller (Emergency Department Pharmacist), Andrijana Kersic (Senior Physician Neurology ED), Rena Sadijeva (Specialist in Internal Medicine ED), Ann-Christine Mihai (Senior Physician Surgery ED), Dr. Florian Unbehaun (Head Physician of the ED) and Gil Harel (Senior Physician Internal Medicine ED)
Hospital Pharmacy
Klinikum Hanau​​
Since September 2025 a clinical pharmacist has been working in the emergency department at Klinikum Hanau for the first time. The aim of the project is to identify medication-related risks early in the treatment process and thereby specifically improve patient safety. A key element is the interdisciplinary collaboration between the pharmacist, physicians and nursing staff. This teamwork enables faster, safer, and more personalized decisions regarding medication therapy. The pharmacist takes a structured medication history directly at the patient's bedside, especially for emergency patients with unclear medication use or polypharmacy. This is followed by a comprehensive medication review for drug-related problems, such as adverse drug reactions, interactions, incorrect dosages or duplicate prescriptions. Through this close integration into clinical workflows, the pharmacist contributes significantly to improving patient safety in the emergency department. The project aims to demonstrate how targeted pharmaceutical expertise directly on-site can support treatment success and contribute to the quality of care in the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital.
Emden, from left to right: Simon van Hove (Managing Senior Physician), Claudia Janssen (Emergency Department Pharmacist), Marvin Stockhausen (Ward Physician)
Aurich, from left to right: Alexander Dinse-Lambracht (Head Physician), Marina Knelles-Neier (Lead Senior Physician), Sven Friedrichs (Emergency Department Pharmacist), Uwe Tillmann (Senior Physician)
Hospital Pharmacies
Ubbo-Emmius-Klinik Aurich
and Klinikum Emden​
With an increasing number of available drugs, and the resulting variety of treatment options for various clinical conditions, the challenge of quickly obtaining an overview of a patient’s current medication and possible drug-related problems is growing in emergency departments. Starting in fall 2025, two pharmacists will support the emergency-department-team in Ubbo-Emmius-Klinik Aurich and Klinikum Emden.
During a two-year period, the two Emergency Department Pharmacists (EDP) will, after the initial assessment by the medical or the nursing team, specifically review each patient’s medication for drug-related problems such as interactions, side effects or incorrect dosages. In a patient interview, non-adherence, incorrect intake or unreported medications will be identified.
Furthermore, the EDP serves as a direct link to the hospital pharmacy and ward pharmacists to ensure the smooth and correct continuation of the patient's home medication and planned therapeutic measures upon admission.
This new interdisciplinary collaboration aims to improve drug therapy safety not only in the emergency departments, but also in both hospitals overall.
Villingen-Schwenningen, from left to right: Hanja Pühler (Emergency Department Pharmacist), Moritz Vitt (Head of Pharmacy), Prof. Dr. med. Bernhard Kumle (Head of the Department of Acute and Emergency Medicine), Theresa Waldvogel (Emergency Department Pharmacist)
Hospital Pharmacy Schwarzwald-Baar
Klinikum Villingen-Schwenningen
Demographic change, a shortage of primary care physicians, and the centralization of healthcare are leading to increasing patient numbers in the emergency department. To meet these structural challenges, the Schwarzwald-Baar Hospital is taking a new, innovative approach. The interdisciplinary emergency department is undergoing a fundamental restructuring. In addition to a progressive spatial concept with numerous small individual care stations, expanded trauma room capacity, and specialized treatment rooms for dementia patients, the focus is on optimizing processes. The aim is to provide safe and rapid patient care.
A key component of the future redesigned processes is the implementation of an Emergency Department Pharmacist (EDP). As a medication expert, the EDP supports physicians by providing precise medication histories, assessing interactions and side effects, establishing order standards in the computerized physician order entry system (CPOE), and conducting regular training sessions. Recommendations and pharmaceutical interventions are documented via digital consultation in the hospital information system and are centrally available to all professional groups involved in treatment. In this way, the EDP makes a valuable contribution to increasing efficiency, reducing medication errors and sustainably improving the quality of care – both in the emergency room and during the subsequent inpatient stay.
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Tender
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Annually, over 20 million patients are treated in German emergency departments. It is estimated that between 5 and 10% of all hospital admissions are due to adverse drug reactions (ADRs), which are often not correctly identified. The diverse patient population, numerous concurrent processes, constant time constraints, and varying levels of training and expertise among staff members present a considerable risk for medication errors. The integration of pharmacists has already resulted in enhanced safety of drug therapy in a number of clinical areas. However, the role of an Emergency Department Pharmacist is currently only available in a limited number of facilities in Germany. This underscores the need for greater pharmacist presence in German emergency departments.
Therfore, the Foundation Patient & Clinical Pharmacy is actively and broadly promoting the establishment of clinical pharmacy in Germany. It is supporting the Emergency Department Pharmacist project throughout Germany, with two to three projects funded to implement and establish clinical pharmacy in the emergency department. The foundation is particularly encouraging applications from small and mid-size non-university hospital pharmacies. Doctorates are excluded.
Pharmacists of a German, non-university hospital pharmacy are eligible to apply. The project is planned for a two-year funding period and includes personnel costs of 50-100% TV-L E14, the scope should be adapted to local conditions. The tender is carried out in a two-stage process.
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Submissions are only possible by E-Mail. Questions can be directed to info@pukph.org.
31.12.2024
Deadline for level 1
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Downloads (in german):
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Application form head of pharmacy
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Application form head of emergency department
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31.01.2025
Decision level 1
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15.03.2025
Deadline for level 2
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01.09.2025
Project launch
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31.08.2027
Expected end of project
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