Inpatient Pharmacy
The inpatient Pharmacy Department provides service to three campuses of KDHCD.
The inpatient pharmacy department has a staff of 120+ with 45+ clinical
pharmacists (86% have completed at least a PGY1 residency, 58% are BCPS
certified) and operates 24/7 inpatient pharmacy services. Medications
are primarily dispensed using unit-based medication dispensing cabinets
with the addition of centralized IV additive and chemotherapy preparation
services. A full array of technology is available to assist with distribution
of medications to our patients. This includes automated inventory management
(Talyst® Carousel), automated dispensing cabinets (Pyxis®), bar
code medication administration, automated TPN compounder (Baxter®)
and workflow management systems (DoseEdge®).
Pharmacy services utilize an integrated decentralized staffing model. Pharmacists
practice on nursing units participating in order verification, provision
of drug information and clinical pharmacy services. Clinical pharmacy
services include patient care rounding on select floors, pharmacokinetics,
anticoagulation management, automatic intravenous to oral switches, automatic
renal dose adjustments and automatic therapeutic interchanges. Transitions
of Care patient care activities are integrated in pharmacist floor activities
on select medical-surgical units. Specialty pharmacy services include
Infectious Disease, Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Oncology, Pediatrics,
Anemia Management, Pain Management and Anticoagulation. Kaweah Delta Pharmacy
Department’s Anemia Management service was the recipient of an ASHP
Best Practice Award in 2010 and the Pain Management service was the recipient
of an ASHP Best Practice Aware in 2014.
Teaching affiliations with Schools of Pharmacy include: University of California
San Francisco, University of the Pacific, and Touro University. The pharmacy
department hosts over 45 pharmacy student rotations per year on average.
Pharmacists service as preceptors, participate in hospital committees,
round with medical teams and are an essential part of the healthcare team.
The medication needs of inpatients are also supported by pharmacy technician
staff. Pharmacy technician staff are divided into Level 1 and Level II
technicians. The pharmacy tech staff supports replenishment of unit-based
dispensing cabinets (Pyxis) where 98% if medication doses are dispensed.
Additional medications, including IV preparations, not dispensed by Pyxis
are prepared and dispensed from the inpatient pharmacy by technicians
under the supervision of pharmacists. Pharmacy patient care technicians
support the review of medication histories for patients who are high risk
for readmission.
At Kaweah Delta Health Care District, we are committed to providing high-quality,
customer-oriented and financially strong healthcare services that meet
the diverse needs of the patients we serve. The pharmacy staff’s
goal is to provide personal, professional and compassionate experiences
to every person, every time