Development of clinical pharmacy in Belgian hospitals through pilot projects funded by the government

AbstractObjectives The goal is to develop clinical pharmacy in the Belgian hospitals to improve drug efficacy and to reduce drug-related problems.Methods From 2007 to 2014, financial support was provided by the Belgian federal government for the development of clinical pharmacy in Belgian hospitals. This project was guided by a national Advisory Working Group. Each funded hospital was obliged to describe yearly its clinical pharmacy activities.Results In 2007, 20 pharmacists were funded in 28 pilot hospitals; this number was doubled in 2009 to 40 pharmacists over 54 institutions, representing more than half of all acute Belgian hospitals. Most projects (72%) considered patient-related activities, whereas some projects (28%) had a hospital-wide approach. The projects targeted patients at admission (30%), during hospital stay (52%) or at discharge (18%). During hospital stay, actions were mainly focused on geriatric patients (20%), surgical patients (15%), and oncology patients (9%). Experiences, methods, a...