Abstract
Clinical pharmacy is a discipline concerned with the
application of pharmaceutical expertise to help maximize drug
efficacy and minimize drug toxicity in individual patients. This
can only be achieved when the pharmacists function as integral
members to the health care team. A basic objective of clinical
pharmacy services is to provide the right drug to the right patient
at the right time. To meet this objective, two components of
clinical pharmacy practice is mandatory. The first component is
the overall management of medicines on the ward or at any part of
the hospital dealing with drugs through advice on safe handling
and formulary management. The second one is the contribution
to the care of the individual patient through the provision of drug
information and assisting in problem solving. Since one of the
pharmacist’s responsibilities in clinical practice is to attend and
participate in patient’s care rounds, the lack of clinical orientation
will be an obstacle to their professional success. A clinical practice
requires that a major portion of the pharmacist’s time be devoted
to clinical activities. Obviously, there are many significant
difficulties that hinder the implementation of a successful clinical
pharmacy service. However, one can overcome these difficulties
by the proper clinical pharmacy training