This week is National Pharmacy Week, making it a perfect time to acknowledge the excellent work and dedication of our UAB Medicine pharmacy staff. This annual observation celebrates the accomplishments of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians around the country by recognizing their contributions to health care and the many services they provide for their communities.
Like others across the nation, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in the UAB Department of Pharmacy demonstrate expertise in their field and have a significant role in improving the health and well-being of our patients in both ambulatory and inpatient settings.
Along with filling an impressive number of prescriptions, the Department of Pharmacy staff provides a wide array of services and skills. The following information shows the scope of the department’s education, research, and delivery of care.
- The department, which is integrated into the UAB Medicine health care team, has 250 pharmacists and 219 technicians (44% are certified) working in various locations and capacities, including:
- 8 licensed pharmacies
- 4 retail pharmacies
- Mail order pharmacy
- Specialty Pharmacy
- Home Infusion Therapy
- Inpatient/acute care (at UAB Hospital and UAB Hospital-Highlands)
- Infusion Therapy
- Ambulatory clinics
- Medication services for off-campus clinics
- Gardendale Freestanding Emergency Department
- Investigational drug services
- Opioid Stewardship
- Antimicrobial Stewardship
- Formulary Management
- Pharmacy Informatics
- UAB Medicine has five infusion clinics, four of which primarily focus on providing therapy for various types of cancer, and one interdisciplinary clinic that treats a multitude of non-malignant conditions.
- The UAB Central Pharmacy dispenses over 1.2 million unit doses per month and prepares over 25,000 sterile compounds per month for patients receiving care at UAB Hospital.
- UAB Home Infusion Therapy is a specialized pharmacy providing quality, home-based clinical care to patients with infectious diseases, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, immune deficiencies, and cardiovascular disease.
- UAB makes no distinction between clinical and non-clinical pharmacists. Working as a team with pharmacy technicians, nurses, physicians, and other health care professionals, all pharmacists perform direct or indirect clinical roles to provide high-quality patient care.
- 2020 marks the fifth anniversary of Meds to Beds, a service that offers free delivery of medications to inpatients and consultations with a pharmacist if needed, as part of the discharge process. Meds to Beds was designed to improve patients’ transition from hospital to home.
- This year also marks 50 years of residency training for the department, which also holds the distinction of having one of the country’s first residency programs.
- The five pharmacy residency training programs offered at UAB are:
- Pharmacy Practice
- Critical Care
- Solid Organ Transplant
- Oncology
- Infectious Diseases