Assessment of critical care clinical pharmacy services in Puerto Rico

Objectives The primary objective of this study was to determine the percentage of hospitals that provided clinical pharmacy services to their intensive care units (ICU) in Puerto Rico. In addition, the scope and type of clinical pharmacy services provided in the ICU setting were assessed. Methods Key findings A cross-sectional survey was developed and distributed via e-mail to pharmacy directors of Puerto Rico hospitals (n = 56). The survey was sent on two occasions during the month of July 2016. Questions were divided into two categories: practice site information and ICU pharmacy services. A total of 21 survey responses were completed representing 37.5% of Puerto Rico hospitals and 51 ICUs. Pharmacy services to the ICU were mainly from a centralized pharmacy (95.2%). Overall, 42.8% of hospitals reported having some extent of clinical pharmacy services provided to the ICU. Only 4.8% of hospitals indicated having a clinical pharmacist dedicated to ICU for more than 20 h a week. Three hospitals indicated pharmacist had residency training, and two had board certifications. Main fundamental and desirable activities included multidisciplinary rounds, therapeutic interventions and drug information. On average, ICU pharmacists participated in rounds 16.6 +/- 7.5 h/week and an average of 6 +/- 2.8 h/week staffing. Conclusions Based on this survey, critical care clinical pharmacy services in Puerto Rico are insufficient. Additional training in critical care should be promoted among hospital pharmacists in the island. Development of postgraduate critical care training programmes and continuing education seminars in Puerto Rico should also be promoted.