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Abstract Objectives Clinical pharmacists are integral members of multidisciplinary teams in intensive care units (ICUs); however, their presence remains uncommon in French ICUs. This study aimed to describe clinical pharmacy activities implemented in a university hospital’s adult medical ICU and assess the ICU team’s perception of this implementation, its impact on practice and the pharmacist’s role in ICU. Methods This single-centre study covered a 6-month residency rotation. A pharmacy resident participated in daily rounds and reviewed prescriptions. Pharmacist interventions (PIs) were categorized using adapted codification. A cross-sectional survey conducted over 2 days evaluated the ICU team’s views on clinical pharmacist practice interactions and future service requirements. Key findings The pharmacy resident provided direct patient care (e.g. pharmacotherapy and drug-related problems; 86.4%, n = 393/455); and indirect services (e.g. computerized prescribing templates implementation, research support, and pharmacotherapy education for ICU staff; 13.6%, n = 62/455). Most PIs were optimizations (74.7%, n = 340/455) compared with medication error rectifications (25.3%, n = 115/455), with a high acceptance rate for prescription-related PIs (89.3%; n = 351/393). Of all PIs, 44.4% (n = 202/455) were solicited by the ICU team. Survey results showed 100% (n = 30) of the medical team and 71% (n = 15/21) of nurses believed the pharmacy resident’s presence improved the ICU’s training programme. Key pharmacist services included participation in rounds, managing adverse drug events, and updating pharmacotherapy protocols. Conclusions This study illustrates a pharmacy resident’s diverse services in ICU through medication error rectification, prescription optimization and indirect patient care. The ICU team valued this contribution, emphasizing the need for further integration of pharmacy services in French ICUs.
Plesa et al. (Sun,) studied this question.