An Opinion Paper Outlining Recommendations for Training, Credentialing, and Documenting and Justifying Critical Care Pharmacy Services

Abstract

In 2000, the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) published a position paper that defined critical care pharmacy services as fundamental, desirable, and optimal. A task force was developed that included individuals who are members of the ACCP Critical Care Practice and Research Network, the SCCM clinical pharmacy and pharmacology section, and the American Society of Health‐System Pharmacists to develop an opinion paper with three primary objectives: to provide recommendations for the level of preparation and training of pharmacists to practice in critical care, to develop recommendations for the credentialing of pharmacists providing critical care services, and to develop mechanisms for documenting and justifying intensive care unit (ICU) pharmacy services. Each objective was addressed to accommodate the levels of services defined as fundamental, desirable, or optimal, and are targeted at all pharmacists providing or wanting to provide pharmacy services to critically ill patients. The training and preparing of the pharmacist caring for critically ill patients is discussed in the context of the knowledge and skills required to provide pharmacy services in the ICU. Credentialing of the critical care pharmacist and the documentation of services take into account the various scopes of practice, and recommendations are based on current and idealistic mechanisms. A detailed outline is provided for the process of services justification. This paper provides a foundation that is focused on delivering direct and proactive patient care services, particularly at the desirable and optimal levels, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the level of pharmacy services provided to the care of critically ill patients. This commentary should be of interest to numerous stakeholders including pharmacists, other pharmacy department staff, other ICU health care professionals, hospital and academic administrators, accrediting agencies, government officials, and payers. The task force encourages the profession of pharmacy in general to incorporate key recommendations provided in this document with respect to specialized training, credentialing, and service justification.

Medication regimen complexity is associated with pharmacist interventions and drug‐drug interactions: A use of the novel MRC‐ICU scoring tool

“…[1][2][3] Critical care pharmacists have recognized value not only as clinicians but also as champions of quality improvement and education. [1][2][3] Critical care pharmacists have recognized value not only as clinicians but also as champions of quality improvement and education.…”

Raising the interprofessional bar in your specialty interprofessional health care organization

“…I will follow a classification terminology of fundamental, desirable, and optimal for assessing relevant criteria (Table ). These terms were originally used in a position paper by one critical care organization to define the scope and level of critical care pharmacy services and were subsequently used in an opinion paper by a group of critical care pharmacists . Ideally, a truly interprofessional organization would meet all of the criteria associated with optimal level of engagement.…”

“…These terms were originally used in a position paper by one critical care organization to define the scope and level of critical care pharmacy services 5 and were subsequently used in an opinion paper by a group of critical care pharmacists. 6 Ideally, a truly interprofessional organization would meet all of the criteria associated with optimal level of engagement. At the optimal level, interprofessional organizations should have a demonstrated record of performing all of the criteria at the fundamental and desirable levels in addition to seeking interorganizational rela-tionships between health profession organizations (eg, pharmacy, nursing).…”

Incorporating Active-Learning Techniques and Competency Assessment into a Critical Care Elective Course

“…[2][3][4] The American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Critical Care Practice and Research Network (PRN) described the difficulty of standardizing the training that should be required for a specialty degree/certification in critical care pharmacy practice. 5 Flexibility within pharmacy curriculum design was strongly encouraged to allow for incorporation of critical care topic discussion and learning. Furthermore, ACCP's 2009 "Pharmacotherapy Toolkit" provides a list of critical care pharmacotherapy topics ranked by importance of inclusion in the pharmacy curriculum.…”