Intensive Care Pharmacist
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Congratulations to the 3 hospital pharmacies whose projects were selected after completing the two-stage selection process. There were 17 project submissions, thank you to everyone who got involved here.
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Hospital pharmacy at Marienhaus Klinikum Mainz
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Hospital pharmacy of the Starnberg Clinic
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Pharmacy of the Marienhospital, Stuttgart
We wish the selected hospital pharmacies a successful project period and look forward to a productive cooperation.
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Project coordinator:
Dr. Heike Hilgarth, Leipzig
Intensive Care Pharmacists team at the award ceremony for the 3rd Poster Prize at the 49th Scientific Congress of the Federal Association of German Hospital Pharmacists (ADKA) in Nuremberg 2024
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Publications as part of the project
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Selected hospital pharmacies
Starnberg, from left to right: Dr Ulrich Jurgan, specialist in anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine, Dr Angela Ihbe-Heffinger, Dr Katharina Endres, Intensive Care Pharmacists, Dr Andreas Rüchardt, Senior Consultant in Pneumology
Hospital pharmacy of the Starnberg Clinic
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Interdisciplinary, cross-functional medication and risk management in the digitalization environment of intensive care medicine
The medication process in intensive care medicine is complex and, with a prevalence of 4.5-34.1%, leads to ADRs that are mostly predictable (74-90%) and largely avoidable (9-63%). The administration of parenterals requires special attention in the context of Corona pandemic, temporary work and digital pressure – with medication errors being particularly serious in this context. Therefore, from October 2022 the Intensive Care Pharmacists Dr. Katharina Endres and Dr. Angela Ihbe-Heffinger intend to establish pharmaceutical risk minimization strategies for patients of the interdisciplinary intensive care unit, shared by the departments of internal medicine and anesthesiology at Klinikum Starnberg. The project focuses on the expansion of prepared, interdisciplinary ward rounds to solve drug-related problems (DRP), the standardization of parenteral drug administration and the promotion of its acceptance through preconfigured data sets in electronic prescribing systems. The interdisciplinary exchange between intensive care physicians, nursing staff and clinical pharmacists aims to increase drug therapy safety (AMTS).
Stuttgart, from left to right: Dr Felix Hamler, Assistant Physician Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, Barbara Reistle, Intensive Care Pharmacist
Pharmacy of the Marienhospital
Stuttgart
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The "Critical Care Pharmacist” (ICP) acts as the contact person for medicines in the intensive care unit (surgical patients) at the Marienhospital Stuttgart and for subsequent wards in the event of transfer.
In addition to attending ward rounds, his tasks include medication analysis on the basis of laboratory values, followed by advice on therapy dose adjustment or avoidance of undesirable side effects (pharmaceutical intervention). In the initial phase of the project, a representative sample of patients is used to assess the current state of pharmaceutical interventions. In the project phase, several standards will be revised and established through training. These include, for example, dose adjustment in renal insufficiency/dialysis as well as infusion regimens and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). In addition, the change from the intensive care unit to the normal ward is to be facilitated
pharmaceutically by instructions in the doctor's letter. Drug safety will thus also be improved in normal wards.
After the standards have been established, a patient sample will be collected again and compared with the initial phase in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the pharmaceutical interventions.
Mainz, from left to right: PD Dr Matthias David, Head of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Dr Bianca Weyer, Intensive Care Pharmacist, Dr Peter Obitz, Head of Pharmacy
Hospital pharmacy at
Marienhaus Klinikum Mainz
Since autumn 2022, an Intensive Care Pharmacist (ICP) has been a permanent member of the treatment team at Marienhaus Klinikum Mainz. For the Marienhaus Group, this is unique and intended to serve as a model for implementing further pharmacists on the ward.
Intensive care patients often have highly complex clinical conditions, polypharmacy, and organ dysfunctions. It is common for them to receive about 20 different medicines via different routes of administration. Here, the ICP supports the attending physicians in adapting the medication accordingly in the case of interactions or kidney or liver insufficiencies. Moreover the ICP is the contact person for the nursing staff for questions about solutions, compatibility or application via probes. In addition, as a link to the pharmacy, the ICP is the first point of contact in the event of supply shortages and the procurement of special medicines and medical devices. The ICP is involved in writing standards and providing further training. This way, the medication process improves, and drug therapy safety for patients in the intensive care unit increases.
During the 2-year project phase, the ICP is integrated into the programme of the Patient & Clinical Pharmacy Foundation. In addition, an interprofessional steering group accompanies the ICP's activities within the hospital.​
