Pharmacy Services in a Hypertension Clinic

Abstract

Roles for pharmacists are evolving rapidly in the ambulatory care setting. This is primarily due to increasing inpatient costs with a resultant shifting of costs to the outpatient section. This shift has subsequently presented larger numbers of patients and sicker patients to the outpatient setting. This article describes the involvement of a clinical pharmacist in a multidisciplinary hypertension clinic. Detailed are the procedures used to evaluate a patient from consult to discharge, and the responsibilities of the clinical pharmacist, the clinic physician, and the nurse practitioner are reviewed. Finally, methods of documentation and quality assurance are outlined.