Guidelines for pharmacists 
     performing clinical interventions
                                         PSA Committed to better health
                               © Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Ltd. 2018
                               This publication contains material that has been provided by the Pharmaceutical 
                               Society of Australia (PSA), and may contain material provided by the Commonwealth 
                               and third parties. Copyright in material provided by the Commonwealth or third 
                               parties belong to them. PSA owns the copyright in the publication as a whole and 
                               all material in the publication that has been developed by PSA. In relation to PSA 
                               owned material, no part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance 
                               with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwth), or the written permission of 
                               PSA. Requests and inquiries regarding permission to use PSA material should be 
                               addressed to: Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, PO Box 42, Deakin West ACT 2600. 
                               If you would like to use material that has been provided by the Commonwealth or 
                               third parties, contact them directly.
                               Disclaimer 
                               Neither the PSA, nor any person associated with the preparation of this document, 
                               accepts liability for any loss which a user of this document may suffer as a result of 
                               reliance on the document and, in particular, for: 
                               •   use of the Guidelines for a purpose for which they were not intended 
                               •   any errors or omissions in the Guidelines
                               •   any inaccuracy in the information or data on which the Guidelines are based or 
                                   which is contained in them
                               •   any interpretations or opinions stated in, or which may be inferred from, 
                                   the Guidelines. 
                               Notification of any inaccuracy or ambiguity found in this document should be 
                               made without delay in order that the issue may be investigated and appropriate 
                               action taken. Please forward your notification to: Program Delivery Unit, Pharmaceutical 
                               Society of Australia, PO Box 42, Deakin West, ACT 2600.
                               ISBN: 978-0-908185-14-6
                               Title: Guidelines for pharmacists performing clinical interventions
                               Date of Publication: December 2018 (updated January 2019)
                               Date of Endorsement by PSA Board: December 2018
                               Publisher: Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
                              22       Guidelines for pharmacists performing clinical interventions  I  © Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Ltd.
                       Contents
                       Executive summary                                                                                                                                     4
                       Introduction 5
                       Scope 6
                           Terminology 7
                       Clinical interventions overview                                                                                                                       8
                       Clinical interventions as part of medicines management                                                                                                9
                           Relevance to funded programs                                                                                                                     10
                       Performing clinical interventions                                                                                                                   10
                           Patient privacy                                                                                                                                  10
                           Consent 10
                           Training 10
                           Policies and procedures                                                                                                                          11
                           Documentation 11
                           Staff responsibilities                                                                                                                           11
                           Identifying and addressing medication-related problems                                                                                           11
                           Communicating and collaborating with other healthcare providers                                                                                  12
                           Communicating with patients                                                                                                                      13
                           Follow-up 13
                       Documentation 13
                           Methods of documentation                                                                                                                         14
                           Patient history (clinical) notes                                                                                                                 14
                           Recording medication-related problems                                                                                                            14
                           Recording recommendations                                                                                                                        20
                           Monitoring and evaluation                                                                                                                        23
                       Appendix 1 - PROMISe projects                                                                                                                       24 
                       Appendix 2 - Guide for documenting clinical notes (SOAP notes)                                                                                      25
                           SOAP notes                                                                                                                                       25
                           Example 25
                       Appendix 3 - Referral letter template                                                                                                               26
                       Appendix 4 - Clinical intervention template                                                                                                         27
                       Appendix 5 - DOCUMENT MRP and recommendation classification codes                                                                                   28
                       References 29
                                                                                               Guidelines for pharmacists performing clinical interventions  I  © Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Ltd.       33
                             Executive summary
                             Although pharmacists routinely undertake clinical interventions                                                       This will help pharmacists to:
                             as part of their professional duty of care, they may not                                                              •   identify, classify and document medication-related problems 
                             consistently document these interventions, or document them at                                                            (MRPs) and clinical interventions in a professional manner
                             all. In addition, some pharmacists may not always recognise that                                                      •   ensure that all important information is recorded effectively 
                             their decisions and actions constitute clinical interventions.                                                            and systematically
                             These guidelines provide information and guidance to assist                                                           •   use documented clinical interventions to communicate with 
                             pharmacists to meet their professional responsibilities, exercise                                                         other healthcare providers and/or patients, where required.
                             professional judgement and manage risks associated with                                                               The guidelines do not replace the need for pharmacists to 
                             performing clinical interventions. They provide information                                                           exercise professional discretion and judgement when performing 
                             and advice to pharmacists on professional issues related to                                                           these tasks in their own practice environment. The guidelines 
                             performing clinical interventions.                                                                                    do not include clinical information or detailed legislative 
                                                                                                                                                   requirements. Pharmacists must at all times comply with relevant 
                                                                                                                                                   Commonwealth, state and territory legislation, as well as relevant 
                                                                                                                                                   standards, codes and rules.
                            44       Guidelines for pharmacists performing clinical interventions  I  © Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Ltd.