Position paper on critical care pharmacy services

Objective. To identify and describe the scope of practice that characterizes the critical care pharmacist and critical care pharmacy services. Specifically, the goals were to define the level of clinical practice and specialized skills characterizing the critical care pharmacist as clinician, educator, researcher, and manager; and to recommend fundamental, desirable, and optimal pharmacy services and personnel requirements for the provision of pharmaceutical care to critically ill patients. Hospitals having comprehensive resources as well as those with more limited resources were considered. Data Sources. Consensus of critical care pharmacists from institutions of various sizes providing critical care services within several types of pharmacy practice models was obtained, including community-based and academic practice settings. Existing guidelines and literature describing pharmacy practice and drug use processes were reviewed and adapted for the critical care setting. Conclusions. By combining the strengths and expertise of critical care pharmacy specialists with existing supporting literature, these recommendations define the level of clinical practice and specialized skills that characterize the critical care pharmacist as clinician, educator, researcher, and administrator. This position paper recommends fundamental, desirable, and optimal pharmacy services as well as personnel requirements for the provision of pharmaceutical care to critically ill patients.