QEH pharmacists to join doctors on patient rounds

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) has announced plans to introduce a clinical pharmacy service as part of its 2025-2028 Strategic Plan, aimed at enhancing patient care, streamlining hospital processes, and optimising pharmaceutical resources. 

The initiative, according to top officials, marks a shift toward a more hands-on role for pharmacists, who will join physicians on patient rounds to provide direct medication management support.

Speaking on the Pulse Radio Show on Monday, Director of Clinical and Diagnostic Services, Dr Corey Forde outlined the vision behind this shift, noting, “We’re going to try to start a clinical pharmacy medical management service, which is going to move the pharmacist from the pharmacy and get them on the wards, rounding with the physicians, giving advice… and getting people moved in and out of the hospital smoothly.”

“We already have approval for new clinical pharmacology…. Hopefully, we’ll get approval for antimicrobial stewardship pharmacists,” he added.

The clinical pharmacy service will play a key role in optimising drug usage, managing near-expiration medications to prevent wastage, and ensuring patients are discharged with the right medications. 

“It’s going to transform the landscape of management in terms of pharmacological services within the hospital,” Dr Forde said. “It’s not just about dispensing at the window; it’s about pharmacy interaction with physicians… having the pharmacist having a major [and direct] impact in patient care.”

In addition to the clinical pharmacy, QEH’s strategic plan outlines extensive upgrades across the hospital. Key among these are efforts to digitise and automate many of QEH’s processes to improve patient wait times and overall efficiency. 

Dr Forde noted that the hospital is piloting electronic ordering for doctors, a move that will significantly cut down on paperwork and streamline the process of transferring lab results between departments.

He stressed the goal of reducing patient wait times, noting that it can be achieved through a more automated and digital workflow in the laboratory. 

“We’re trying to find ways of cutting down [the process],” he said. “Moving from that manual process to a more automatic, digital movement… allows for speedier results, speedier transactions, and of course, reducing patient wait time at our hospital.”

Dr Forde highlighted the importance of data-driven decision-making to guide QEH’s initiatives, underscoring that with 60 per cent of the hospital’s imaging studies conducted in the Accident & Emergency Department, optimising patient flow based on data could help manage demand more effectively and cut wait times. 

The strategic plan further emphasises collaboration across departments, including finance, IT, and engineering, to ensure that every aspect of the hospital is aligned with its goals. (SM)