Pharmacy

Our service provides medicines management services for inpatients, outpatients and day admitted patients in the North West Hospital and Health Service including facilities located off-site.??A core function of the pharmacy department focuses on promoting the quality use of medicine principles and safe medication practices through:

• Patient medication dispensing
• Medication history taking, reconciliation and medication chart review;
• Patient education and medication counselling to inpatients and outpatients;
• Therapeutic drug monitoring service;
• Involvement in consultant ward rounds;
• Patient educations;
• Management of supply of medicines and claim of Section 85 (PBS) and Section 100 medicines;
• Support for indigenous health initiatives; and
• Training and ongoing education of staff and undergraduate students

Outreach Service

North West Hospital and Health Service has a dedicated outreach pharmacist, who travels around to all facilities within NWHHS including hospitals and health clinics. The regular visits allow clinical pharmacy input into patient care in these sites, a review of practices pertaining to the acquisition, storage and supply of medications and ensuring that these practices meet the requirements of the Queensland Health (drugs and poisons) regulations (1996).??These visits also allow the opportunity for the outreach pharmacist to provide education and training to staff in these facilities who are responsible for the medication management pathway.