2. PHARMACOTHERAPY
Pharmacotherapy is a specialty area of pharmacy
practice that is responsible for ensuring the safe,
appropriate, and economical use of drugs in patient
care.
Globally, defined as the safe and effective use of
drugs to treat diseases in humans
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3. Cont…
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The pharmacotherapy specialist:
has responsibility for direct patient care
functions as a member of a multidisciplinary team and
the primary source of drug information for other
healthcare professionals
4. Pharmacotherapeutics and other courses
This branch of the sciences involves almost every
branch of medicine, and integrates a wide variety
of pharmaceutical sciences
pathology/pathophysiology, clinical lab methods,
pharmacology, etc…
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5. Therapeutic choices
Multiple steps are involved in drug prescribing and
evaluating their effectiveness
1st step – accurate diagnosis based on pts Hx, P/E,
and other pertinent diagnostic findings
2nd step – selecting the best agent – based on the
effect of drugs on patients condition and the disorder,
also outcomes of therapy.
Selecting of drugs depends on knowledge of
pathophysiology of disease , pharmacodynamic and
kinetics of the drug
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6. Then best class of drugs for the disorder and its
Recommended dosage
Potential side effect
Possible DDI
Required laboratory test
C/I
Pt instruction should be well addressed
Based on stated goals of drug therapy
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7. Evaluation of drug therapy efficacy and safety is
based on these goals
Identifying outcomes :-
Improvement in clinical Symptoms or pathologic
signs, changes in biochemistry determined by lab
tests
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8. Out line of presentation of topics in pharmacotherapy
Introduction/overview
Epidemiology
Diagnostic work up
Clinical presentation- sign and symptoms
Pathophysiology
Pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapy –
emphasis will be on these specific part
Monitoring and Evaluation of therapy
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