Hospital pharmacists are increasingly involved in direct patient care roles, and in 2024, more than 75% of U.S. hospitals assign pharmacists to provide care for most inpatients, according to a report published June 25.
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists collected responses from 250 hospitals to evaluate pharmacists’ clinical involvement in hospitals. They found that over the last decade, hospital pharmacists have seen “a sharp increase in clinical involvement” and a “steady growth in their roles on the care team,” according to a June 25 news release.
The survey found that more than 3 in 4 hospitals had pharmacists deliver direct care in 2024, including critical care (68.5% of hospitals), oncology (56.9%), cardiology (48.5%) and infectious disease and antimicrobial stewardship (48.1%). Nearly 90% of hospitals rely on pharmacists to provide pre-discharge education on medications.
Pharmacist involvement in EDs has also dramatically increased since 2011, when 10.9% of hospitals reported pharmacist assignments in EDs. The past year saw 46.5%.
Anticoagulant therapy dosing management has also risen, with 63.2% of hospitals having pharmacists routinely manage blood thinner medication doses in 2024. In 2019, that figure was 54.7% and in 2016, it was 42.6%.
The ASHP has been tracking this evolution for more than 50 years, the release said. Results are published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy.
