November 8, 2024

Welcome back to UH EMS-I’s Pharmacy Phriday. In this installment, we’ll focus on the role of Emergency Department (ED) Pharmacists. The ED Pharmacist is a role seen throughout the UH system; they are very beneficial to our patient’s overall care and can be very helpful to EMS personnel. Review the list below provided to us by some of our ED Pharmacists within the system to learn more about their role.

What roles do pharmacists play in emergency departments?

• ED Pharmacists hold BLS, ACLS & PALS certifications

• Participate in acute care situations, including Code Blue, STEMI, stroke, sepsis, rapid sequence intubation, and procedural sedation; prepare any medications needed along the way while making necessary recommendations

• Work with providers to select the most appropriate medications for treating a variety of disease states, along with proper dosing and route of administration

• Optimize readily available medications from the Omnicell machines (medication cabinets located in the department) based on usage and patient population

• Work alongside pharmacy technicians to obtain up-to-date, accurate home medication lists from patients who will be admitted to the hospital

• Assist nursing staff by quickly and safely obtaining various medications from the inpatient pharmacy

• Assist EMS with drug box exchanges and resolving any related issues

• Lead antimicrobial stewardship initiatives: selecting appropriate antibiotics for each patient, discouraging unnecessary use of antibiotics, monitoring blood cultures and other labs

• Support providers with ordering home-going prescriptions and counseling patients on discharge medications, such as EpiPens, inhalers, and steroid tapers

• Implement processes to increase medication safety and efficiency in the ED

• Participate in community outreach programs such as Project DAWN, dispensing take-home medications to at-risk patients, such as Narcan nasal spray for overdose patients

Be sure to seek these individuals out within the ED with any questions you may have.

As always, stay safe! 

Sincerely, 

The UH EMS-I Team 

University Hospitals