[Steps aimed at upgrading a pharmaceutical care sector: the case of neonatology]

Background: While the concept of clinical pharmacy was developed in the 1960s, clinical outpatient and inpatient programs are characterized by their great variety and disparity when it comes to the presence of pharmacists in healthcare sectors.

Objectives: This article aims to describe a method in which pharmaceutical care sectors in healthcare facilities can be upgraded.

Methods: This is a descriptive study supporting the upgrade of pharmaceutical care practiced in the neonatology sector of a 500-bed mother-child university hospital center, the centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHUSJ). The CHUSJ's Pharmacy Department employs more than 70 healthcare professionals. The study involved the following upgrading steps: (1) a review of the literature, (2) a description of the profile of the sector and (3) a description of the upgrading of pharmacist practice in neonatology.

Results: A total of 121 articles were compiled, 16 of which were selected to evaluate the impact and 54 a description of the pharmacist's role in neonatology. The authors did not identify any particular pharmaceutical activity based on very good quality data (A). However, six of them were based on good quality data (B) and eight lacked adequate proof (C, D) in relation to the practice of neonatology. Nevertheless, a number of other authors described the development of the pharmacist's clinical role in neonatology. This study described the sector profile and upgrading of pharmaceutical practice that resulted from the literature review and a subsequent discussion among pharmacists.

Conclusion: There are few data on the impact of pharmacists in neonatology. This descriptive study proposes a number of steps aimed at upgrading pharmaceutical care within a Quebec university hospital center.