Managing Clinical Programs in Pharmacy at an Academic Medical Center in the United States

Managing clinical pharmacy programs requires communication, coordination, and organization to provide the best possible care to patients and to support staff members. While different areas of pharmacy have slight variations in management style, there are core concepts that all clinical managers should address. These include training, staff evaluation and support, assessment and improvement of policies and processes and research. Standardized training performed by high performing members of staff is essential in providing the framework for strong employees and clinical pharmacists. Routine communication, evaluation, and discussion of reward and promotion will provide support to staff and recognition of high-quality work. Continued evaluation and improvement of policies and processes will bring attention to areas of improvement and how the change can be agreed upon and implemented. Research is necessary to advance the healthcare practice and improve patient outcomes. Managers and administrators should tailor their approach based on what is best for their practice setting, institution, and staff to promote strong and capable pharmacists, policies, and workflow to provide the best possible care to patients.