[Translated article] Activities of clinical pharmacists in intensive care units.

Abstract

The main objective of the activity carried out in an intensive care unit (ICU) and in general, in all hospitalization units, is to provide all the human and material resources to offer the best therapeutic care to admitted patients. Work in multidisciplinary teams, made up of specialists in intensive care medicine as those responsible for the patients, doctors from other specialties, specialized nursing, physiotherapists, nutritionists, and clinical pharmacists is an optimal approach to achieve the proposed objective. The activities of the clinical pharmacist can be developed at different levels (basic, intermediate, and excellent) depending on the degree of involvement, the time dedicated, the training, and the available resources. This article aims to establish an initial work guide, through recommendations aimed at the activity to be developed by the clinical pharmacist in the ICU in relation to critical patient care and quality improvement, which serves as a reference for those pharmacists who go to develop pharmaceutical care activities in critical patients.