Clinical Pharmacy

Dear Colleagues,

The American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) abridged definition of clinical pharmacy is “…that area of pharmacy concerned with the science and practice of rational medication use.”¹ This definition is intentionally broad, as it should be. Clinical pharmacists practice in a variety of healthcare settings, and are actively involved in a wide range of direct patient care activities. Indeed, the great clinical pharmacy visionary Paul F. Parker would likely be pleased were he to view the expanding role of the clinical pharmacist in today’s rapidly changing healthcare environment. Throughout his career, Dr. Parker pointed out that clinical pharmacy cannot be limited to the institutional practice setting. Rather, he reminded us that “the value of a pharmacist’s contribution to drug use is directly related to the quality of the pharmacist’s knowledge, judgement, and personal skills rather than the practice setting.”^2,3 Dr. Parker’s vision is evident when considering the eight specialty practice areas currently recognized with board certification by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS), namely Ambulatory Care Pharmacy, Critical Care Pharmacy, Nuclear Pharmacy, Nutrition Support Pharmacy, Oncology Pharmacy, Pediatric Pharmacy Pharmacotherapy, and Psychiatric Pharmacy.

Integral to the definition of clinical pharmacy is the requirement for clinical pharmacists to directly observe and interact with their patients, and to continually work to maintain a comprehensive and current therapeutic drug knowledge base. Dr. Parker’s greatest contribution to his beloved profession may well have been the concept of post-graduate pharmacy residency training.² Post-graduate year-1 (PGY-1) clinical pharmacy and PGY-2 specialty residencies provide graduates with highly specialized training in their chosen areas of clinical practice. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)-accredited PGY-2 residencies are available in a diverse number of clinical pharmacy practice areas, including ambulatory care, cardiology, critical care, geriatrics, infectious diseases, internal medicine, nutrition support, oncology, pediatrics, pharmacotherapy, psychiatry, and solid organ transplant.

It is my distinct honor to serve as Guest Editor for this Special Issue devoted to clinical pharmacy practice. It is my hope that you will be informed, and perhaps challenged, as we summarize clinical pharmacy practice in today’s healthcare landscape, and present a vision of clinical pharmacy’s future.

Dr. Marc G. Sturgill
Pharm. Dr. Anita Siu, BCPPS
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmacy is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Clinical pharmacy
• Pharmaceutical care
• Evidence-based medicine
• Medication error prevention
• Medication therapy management
• Transitions of care

References

1. American College of Clinical Pharmacy. The definition of clinical pharmacy. Pharmacotherapy 2008;28(6):816–7.
2. Worthen DB. Paul Frederick Parker 1919-1998: a visionary innovator. Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association 2009;49(1):11721.
3. Parker PF. Reflections on clinical pharmacy’s first 20 years. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacists 1985;42:1293-7.