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Pharmacy
Phone: 970.564.2190
e-mail: pharmdir@swhealth.orgThe Pharmacist
Clinical pharmacists in hospitals are responsible for providing the expertise to facilitate appropriate drug selection, dosage calculations and education to physicians, hospital staff and patients about medications. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians work closely with other members of the health-care team to provide high-quality patient care.
Pharmacists are required to have a minimum of a five-year bachelor of science degree and a specified number of hours of supervised pharmacy experience before taking the national licensure exam. Colorado requires pharmacists to acquire continuing education each year to remain current in the practice of pharmacy.
Pharmacy technicians are paraprofessionals who provide support for pharmacists by assisting with dispensing and compounding duties.
David Mortensen, R.Ph., is the Director of Pharmacy. Marc Meyer, R.Ph., and Crystal Ward, R.Ph., are staff pharmacists. Jamie Wells and Mike Brafford are pharmacy technicians. William Rainer III, M.D., is the medical director of the pharmacy.
The duties of the SWMH pharmacy staff include providing medications for each nursing department's daily and emergency use, and stocking unit-dose carts with medication for each patient. The pharmacy inventory is closely monitored to ensure that adequate supplies are available and that no outdated medications remain in stock.
Procedure
Physicians' medication orders are entered into the pharmacy computer system, in which a medication database provides some automatic safeguards against medication allergies, and harmful interactions among multiple medications or between medications and food. The computer is also programmed to alert pharmacists to adjust dosages for patients with diminished kidney function.
Pharmacists double-check this information, for each medication and for each patient, before every order is dispensed, to help prevent adverse drug reactions. According to the Institute of Safe Medicine Practices, "While computerized drug information is an effective way to accomplish a reduction in errors, moving the pharmacist, an expert on drugs, into patient care areas is best. In this way, pharmacists can establish close working relationships with patients and staff, following the patient's clinical course, and regularly consult with staff about drug selection, dosing and administration. A growing body of research shows that when such moves are made, patient outcomes are improved, and both errors and drug costs are significantly reduced."
The most frequent problem identified by surveyors during visits to hospitals by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organization inspection teams is medication-use errors. No such errors were identified during the recent survey, providing evidence that the Pharmacy Department has done a good job educating, monitoring and providing quality control in cooperation with nursing and medical staff members.
Clinical
Clinical functions of staff pharmacists include the administration of chemotherapy; assisting in Dobutamine stress echocardiograms, Persantine stress nuclear imaging, and transesophageal echocardiograms; the provision of limited conscious sedation.
At the request of physicians, pharmacists use pharmacokinetic techniques to determine safe and effective dosages of medications with narrow therapeutic windows. Pharmacists also consult frequently with physicians to determine which antibiotic is most appropriate to prescribe for a specific infection, in order to minimize the evolution of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms.
The SWMH pharmacists are certified to perform Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Neonatal Resuscitation.
Education
Drug information is an important service of the SMWH pharmacy staff. Pharmacists daily answer an average of 10 calls from physicians, 20 calls from the nursing staff, and 10 calls from individuals who are not hospital patients, as well as educating hospital patients about their medications. Questions include medication selection, the reasons for prescribing a specific medication, ways to administer the medication, the uses of herbal products and their interactions with conventional medications, adverse reactions, and the appropriateness of specific medications for pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as many others. Pharmacists are also called upon to identify possible drugs of abuse by local law-enforcement officers, educators and concerned parents.
In addition to their clinical duties, pharmacists provide continuing education on medication topics to hospital staff members, provide lectures on pharmacology for paramedic and nursing students in local programs, serve as instructors for Pediatric Advanced Life Support, provide practical experience for pharmacy students from the University of Colorado and the University of Montana and for nursing students from Pueblo Community College/San Juan Technical School and Weber State/Eastern College of Utah. They are available to speak to other groups within the community.
Hours of Operation
The SWMH pharmacy is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. An on-call scheduled guarantees that a pharmacist is available for emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
For more information about the pharmacy or about medications, call 564-2190.
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1311 N. Mildred Rd. • Cortez, Co, 81321
Main Hospital: 970-565-6666 • Emergency Room: 970-564-2025
