Department of Pharmacy
Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, was established in 1956. The Department of Pharmacy was founded at the inception of the hospital and has experienced rapid growth since 2004. Today, it has evolved from merely supplying drugs to becoming a comprehensive department encompassing drug management, pharmaceutical services, education, and research.
In 2018, the entire Tiantan Hospital underwent a complete relocation, infusing the hospital with fresh vitality. The Department of Pharmacy seized this opportunity for a new phase of development.
The Outpatient Pharmacy is responsible for providing and dispensing Western and Chinese medicines for all outpatient. The Outpatient Pharmacy has undergone a transformation with the implementation of pharmacy automation, including tools like rapid drug machine dispensers, intelligent access systems, smart drug dispensing systems, electronic requisition systems, and pneumatic logistics systems to ensure accurate, quick, and efficient drug dispensing. This has improved the efficiency of dispensing and provides superior service to patients. Pre-prescription checking play a crucial role in demonstrating the professional expertise of pharmacists. The Department of Pharmacy utilizes big data and intelligent checking systems, along with dedicated pharmacist positions, to conduct pre-prescription checking, further ensuring medication safety for outpatient patients.
The Traditional Chinese Medicine Outpatient Pharmacy focuses on the supply and dispensing of traditional Chinese herbal medicine. It is equipped with herb dispensers and dispensing stations tailored to the needs of traditional Chinese medicine. The pharmacy handles bulk herbs, weighs and measures doses, and packages herbs in paper bags with dosage instructions printed on the front and brewing instructions on the back. This extends the role pharmacists in patient education. The pharmacy also provides professional herbal decoction and automatic liquid packaging services for enhanced patient care. Given the complexity and time-consuming nature of herbal dispensing, the Department of Pharmacy collaborates with courier services to offer herbal delivery to patients' homes, making pharmaceutical services more comprehensive and patient-centric.
The Central Pharmacy is responsible for supplying and dispensing medications for all inpatient units. It is equipped with single-dose packaging machines, automated medication error verification machines, fully automated inventory counting machines, intelligent medication cabinets, and other auxiliary facilities. This enhances the automation process of the Central Pharmacy. Additionally, the Central Pharmacy pharmacists are responsible for checking and improving medication orders for all inpatient units, greatly enhancing the rational use of medication. Besides their dispensing responsibilities, the pharmacist team also visits patient bedsides to provide guidance on taking medications, showcasing the multifaceted value of pharmacists.
To ensure the safe and standardized use of intravenous medications, improve the quality and safety of intravenous medication preparation, and enhance occupational protection, the Department of Pharmacy has established the Parenteral Intravenous Admixture Service (PIVAS). PIVAS currently handles the preparation of intravenous medications for inpatient units, including long-term infusion orders, cytotoxic medications, and temporary total parenteral nutrition orders. The center is equipped with six biosafety cabinets, eight horizontal laminar flow hoods, and a range of automated equipment, including medication sorting machines, intelligent dispensing machines, automatic inventory counting machines, automatic labeling machines, and more. This automation, combined with the use of a barcode PDA scanning system and an intravenous medication management system, ensures the entire medication preparation process is information-driven, intelligent, and automated.
The Clinical Pharmacy team is a crucial driving force in the Department of Pharmacy, with 15 phd, 9 master, and one postdoctoral researcher. As a dedicated learning team, the Clinical Pharmacy team has maintained a culture of continuous learning, including weekly internal business training, quarterly city-level pharmacist salons, and annual events like the Forbidden City International Pharmacist Forum and national-level clinical pharmacist practice and improvement training courses. While providing high-quality learning opportunities for colleagues in the pharmacy field, these initiatives have also enhanced the team's academic, presentation, and organizational skills. Team members frequently participate in international and domestic academic conferences, delivering speeches, presentations, and poster sessions, with over a hundred appearances each year.
The department's achievements in research and education are also noteworthy. They have repeatedly secured various research projects, including those from the National Natural Science Foundation and Beijing Natural Science Foundation, as well as top-tier research projects. In just 2018-2023, the department obtained over 200 research projects, with a total funding of more than 30 million RMB. Over two years, they published over 50 SCI papers, more than 70 Chinese journal papers, and authored 13 academic books. The department's Clinical Pharmacy division, as part of the clinical pharmacy department at Capital Medical University, provides teaching for undergraduate students, international students, and students in upgrading programs. On average, they instruct around 40 students each year in clinical pharmacy training, further contributing to the development of the pharmacy field.
In terms of innovative pharmaceutical services, the work of the Tiantan Pharmacy Department is nationally recognized. Their expertise in anticoagulation, epilepsy, smoking cessation, COPD, precision medicine, pain management, and menopausal care is showcased in their six physician-pharmacist collaboration clinics, where pharmacists play a vital role in ensuring patient medication safety. The newly established Medication Therapy Management (MTM) clinic has become an important platform for pharmaceutical services, contributing to the transformation of pharmaceutical service models in hospitals nationwide.
The hospital's pharmaceutical public WeChat account, Tiantan Pharmacist Takes Care of Your Health (TianTanYaoShi, YouNinAnKang) updates monthly with education materials sourced from clinical needs and supports clinical ward cabinet management. These efforts have been well-received by clinical departments. Pharmacists are actively engaged in providing clinical pharmaceutical services to healthcare professionals, patients, and nursing staff, and this is one of their prominent activities. Every year, many pharmacists from around the country apply to participate in this program.
In foundational work, the Pharmacy Department offers multi-tiered pharmaceutical professional services to meet the urgent needs of the public for safe and rational medication use. Therapeutic drug monitoring has been ongoing in clinical pharmacy for many years. In the past five years, the department has shifted from the "results-based model" to the current "scientific guidance model" through the introduction of high-tech projects, such as genetic testing, and provides scientific, professionally-guided treatment adjustments based on patient results. This approach has gained widespread recognition and received unanimous praise from patients.
The department has been involved in youth volunteer work for over a decade, continuously innovating and expanding its initiatives. Projects include voluntary medication consultations following the model of Lei Feng, endocrinology pharmacist-nurse joint education clinics, pharmaceutical consultations for suburban areas, pharmaceutical management and education for hospital community residents, and more. Recent efforts have expanded to include senior care clinic services and medication education for kindergarten children, embodying their commitment to public welfare and community service.
The department actively participates in cultural and sports activities, achieving first prizes in national and municipal speech competitions, the title of best debater in debate competitions, recognition in photography, gold medals in choir competitions, and participation in various outreach, performance, sports, reading, and hobby activities, showcasing the multifaceted engagement of department pharmacists.
Since the turn of the century, the Tiantan Department of Pharmacy has experienced rapid development, earning numerous accolades and achievements. These include recognition as outstanding pharmacists nationwide, the status of a potential key discipline, the hospital pharmacy award, national recognition as excellent preceptors for pharmacy education, as well as numerous first, second, and third prizes for research papers. Each of these awards, regardless of their size or weight, represents the dedication and hard work of the department's pharmacists.
Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, was established in 1956. The Department of Pharmacy was founded at the inception of the hospital and has experienced rapid growth since 2004. Today, it has evolved from merely supplying drugs to becoming a comprehensive department encompassing drug management, pharmaceutical services, education, and research.In 2018, the entire Tiantan Hospital…