Clinical Pharmacy education in the United States and its application to integrative health care

Abstract

[Abstract]: Clinical pharmacists are considered medication experts and important members of the patient care team in the United States. Pharmacists have been ranked among the most trusted professionals for many consecutive years. In recent years, there has been rising interest among Americans in integrative health care, an approach that brings together conventional and complementary medicine in a coordinated way. The emergence of integrative health care presents new opportunities and challenges for patient-centered pharmaceutical care. Clinical pharmacy education in the United States incorporates pharmaceutical science and therapeutic knowledge along with social and cultural value, and ethical principles into the curriculum. Graduates of the curriculum are able to integrate therapeutic knowledge with social-cultural context into the clinical practice, make meaningful clinical interventions in the interprofessional team, and provide patient-centered care in a variety of settings including community and health-system based practices. With the solid educational foundation, the pharmacy profession can adapt quickly within the integrative health care setting and continue to optimize patient experience and patient outcomes in the ever-changing health care world.

Keywords

• Pharmacy education
• Clinical training
• Integrative health care