Abstract

Quality newborn care requires a multidisciplinary team approach, combining the highly specialised knowledge and skills of all healthcare team members. As a member of this team, the clinical pharmacist contributes to improving treatment outcomes, reducing complications related to medication and parenteral nutrition and, consequently, to reducing the overall cost of treatment. The clinical pharmacist in the Intensive Care and Therapy Unit of the Clinical Department of Neonatology at the Paediatric Clinic of the University Medical Centre in Ljubljana, in addition to providing medicines, is also involved in advising on the preparation of parenteral medicines in the department and parenteral nutrition in the pharmacy. His involvement in the hospital ward includes, inter alia, consultation of doctors and nurses on dosage and administration of drugs, compatibility of parenteral drugs with infusion solutions, mutual compatibility of parenteral drugs flowing simultaneously through the same catheter lumen, correct preparation and storage of parenteral drugs and their administration, and physicochemical stability of the prepared solutions.

Key words: clinical pharmacist, neonatal intensive care unit, neonat/infant/newborn, clinical pharmacist role/activities