Hospital Pharmacy organisational structure

Hospital Pharmacy Organisational Structure

Compiled by Alok Bains.

The hospital pharmacy organisational structure includes various officers and supporting staff to ensure smooth functioning and efficient delivery of the hospital pharmacy services. The typical organisational structure of the hospital pharmacy includes various departments to run the hospital pharmacy smoothly. The followings are the general overview of a typical hospital pharmacy organisational structure.

1. Chief Pharmacist/Pharmacy Director: It is the highest position in a hospital pharmacy. The chief pharmacist is responsible for the overall smooth functioning of the hospital pharmacy and efficient delivery of the hospital pharmacy services. The chief pharmacist sets a strategic direction for the hospital pharmacy, manages the budget of the hospital pharmacy, looks after government body regulatory affairs compliance, and collaborates with other departments of the hospital.

2. Pharmacy Manager/Supervisor: Pharmacy Manager is responsible to manage day to day activities of the hospital pharmacy. Pharmacy Manager looks after the hospital pharmacy staff workings, coordinates their workflow, arranges staff training, and ensures the safe and accurate dispensing of medicines to the patients. Pharmacy Manager is also responsible to manage hospital pharmacy inventories.

3. Clinical Pharmacists: Clinical pharmacists provide direct care to the patients and medication management services. They also work with other staff of hospitals such as physicians and nurses. Their main role is to optimise medication therapy and ensure patient care and safety. They provide medication therapy management, provide drug information, educate hospital staff regarding medications, and educate patients and their caretakers regarding medication.

4. Staff Pharmacists: They are responsible for dispensing medications, verifying medication orders written by the physicians, conducting drug utilisation reviews, and providing drug information to healthcare professionals, patients and their caretakers. They also provide medication counselling, participate in medication safety initiatives assist in the inventory management system. 

5. Pharmacy technicians: They assist pharmacists to perform their various duties such as prescription decoding, medication dispensing, inventory management, maintaining medication dispensing equipment and other assigned duties.

6. Pharmacy support staff: Pharmacy support staff are pharmacy aides or clerks. They assisted in administrative work, answer phone calls, manage patient profiles and filings, and perform other clerical duties.

7. Pharmacy informatics specialists: Pharmacy informatics specialists are responsible to manage the pharmacy technology systems, electronic health records, automated dispensing cabinets, barcode scanning systems, and other technology solutions in use inside the hospital pharmacy.  They are involved to implement and manage clinical decision tools, medication order sets and other informatics initiatives to enhance patient safety and workflow efficiency.

8. Medication safety officer: The medication safety officer is responsible for medication safety practices in the hospital pharmacy. They develop and implement medication safety policies and procedures, conduct medication error reporting and analysis and implement strategies to prevent medication errors. 

9. Specialist pharmacist: Some hospital pharmacies engage the services of specialist pharmacists, especially for oncology and paediatric patients.

10. Pharmacy interns or trainee pharmacists or student pharmacists or apprentice pharmacists: They join hospital pharmacies for training purposes as a part of their pharmacy education curriculum. They receive training under the supervision of a pharmacist

The above said organisational structure in the hospital pharmacy is a typical organizational structure set-up. It may vary from hospital to hospital. It mainly depends upon the size, complexity and needs of the hospital pharmacy and hospital.

For a successful hospital pharmacy, there should be a clear line of authority, responsibility and communication channels. These all ensure efficient and effective medication therapy for the patients in the hospital setting. Hospital pharmacies may change the hospital pharmacy organizational structure to adapt to new challenges and technologies. It is a must to review and update the organisational structure to ensure best practices and support in the hospital pharmacy.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Compiled by Alok Bains.

Hospital Pharmacy

Organisational Structure

Alok Bains