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Home Care Pharmacist |
Career OverviewThe role of a home care pharmacist is to provide the necessary drug information and prescription medications to those individuals that are being treated out of the hospital. This often includes patients that are at home recovering from medical procedures, patients that are currently waiting for placements in hospices, hospitals, or long-term treatment facilities or patients that have chronic illnesses that are still able to live in their own home or community.
The home care pharmacist works with the treatment team to determine the best medications and the safest methods for patients to use these medications at home. The home care pharmacist may prepare drugs that are used in intravenous drips, breathing apparatus or simply consumed in pill or capsule form.
The home care pharmacist may also help cancer patients that are completing chemotherapy treatments with stabilizing and other medications that are taken between chemotherapy treatments.
A large component of the home care pharmacist’s responsibility is educating the patients and their families about the correct usage of medications. They may also be required to go with the outreach nurse to assist patients in obtaining their medications if they are not able to travel to the pharmacy or hospital.
The home care pharmacist may also evaluate the effectiveness and dosage of the medications while attending home visits with the nurse or treatment team member. The home care pharmacist should be willing to travel to see patients as well as keep scheduled office or pharmacy hours for those patients that are able to come in for appointments and prescriptions.
The home care pharmacist should have excellent communication skills and ability to work with people of all ages. Often a second language is an added benefit to a home care pharmacist depending on the community that they serve. Computer skills, database knowledge and excellent record keeping skills are also important to a home care pharmacist.
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Career RequirementsThe standard requirements of pharmacists apply to home care pharmacists as well. Most have a Pharm-D or Doctor of Pharmacy as well as have completed all necessary exams to be licensed in the state that they are practicing in. Some home care pharmacists may have completed a Bachelor of Science and a one or 2-year residency instead of the four year Pharm-D program.
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Job OutlookThe demand for home care pharmacists will continue to grow as hospitals and healthcare facilities strive to keep patients in their own homes and communities as long as possible.
With more therapeutic drug treatments being used in hospitals and healthcare facilities the demand for trained and experienced pharmacists to monitor patients drug use will continue to expand.
The United States Department of Labor estimates that the number of graduates from schools of pharmacy across the United States will not meet industry needs at least until the year 2014. This will further increase the demand for pharmacists in all areas, including home care pharmacists.
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Career TrackThere are many options for a home care pharmacist, especially if they have experience as compounding pharmacists. Options to move into clinical settings as hospice or hospital pharmacists as well as management opportunities are all possibilities for a home care pharmacist.
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CompensationThe average salary for a home care pharmacist is between $80,000 and $87,000 per year, plus expenses. Most home care pharmacist are either provided a mileage and travel allowance or are supplied a vehicle for work related travel.
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