This fundamental service is oriented towards the pharmaceutical care of cancer patients and the management of the hospital’s pharmaceutical and healthcare products: medicines, sanitary materials, and samples for clinical trials.
Its mission is to contribute to improving the quality of the healthcare provided for the patient.
The optimal and personalised therapeutic strategy for each patient, with the least side effects, is defined and coordinated through the Urological Tumour Committee
Areas of the Pharmacy Service
The IVO Pharmacy Service is divided into the following areas:
Management
Within the Management area’s functions, the service is responsible for the procurement, reception, storage, preservation and care of the hospital’s medicines and healthcare products.
It also manages the processing of applications for purchasing medications in special situations through the Spanish Agency of Medicines, as well as coordinating the authorisation circuit for high health- and economic-impact medical products in close collaboration with the Conselleria de Sanitat Public Health Department.
Dispensing
The Dispensing area is responsible for the individualised dispensing of medicines in unit doses, as well as the replenishment of the ward’s medicine cabinets.
The medical prescription of the medicinal doses required for each patient and for a given period of time are validated by the pharmacist, who must be aware of the pharmacotherapeutic history of each patient, thereby guaranteeing comprehensive personalised care.
Dispensing is streamlined through the use of automated storage systems connected to the hospital’s assisted prescription programme.
Intravenous Mixtures Unit
The Pharmacy Service has accreditation from the Conselleria de Sanitat for the preparation of medicines, and has an Intravenous Mixtures Unit with a Clean Room, where all the hospital’s preparations are centralised under strict safety measures and process monitoring, which optimises resources and guarantees a sterile environment and pharmaceutical validation throughout the circuit.
Intravenous mixtures of cytostatics and immunotherapy are prepared. The Service also has two additional laminar flow cabinets as a backup to provide stability to the entire process.
Pharmacokinetics Unit
This area carries out individualised pharmacokinetic studies for patients. The study has two stages: determining serum concentrations and interpreting the same.
The interpretation of analytical results is the most important part of monitoring and requires knowledge of clinical data, accurate times for sample collection, and concomitant therapies, as well as having a previously defined therapeutic margin or target concentration adapted to the population group the patient belongs to.
Pharmacotechnia
The Pharmacotechnia Unit’s main goal is to develop different pharmaceutical methods adapted to the specific needs of the patients treated in the hospital.
To perform this activity, the Service has the necessary structural and physical conditions, as well as the required tools and equipment.
Information about Medication
The Pharmacy Service’s functions also include dispensing information about medication and resolving any pharmacotherapeutic queries that the centre’s staff or patients may have.
The Pharmacy Department also publishes a drug information bulletin with references to current pharmacotherapeutic articles, especially in the area of oncology.
Clinical Trials Area
In terms of clinical research, the responsibility of the hospital pharmacist in the development of a clinical trial is essential, since the Pharmacy Service is the place, established by current legislation, where the medication under study is stored, monitored and dispensed.
Therefore, the Service has a specific area for storage and conservation, under conditions of rigorous monitoring of the test samples’ conservation parameters, as well as an area for visitations by monitors and auditors. There is also an area for filing and managing the corresponding documentation.
Outpatient Oncological Pharmaceutical Unit
The Outpatient Oncological Pharmaceutical Unit (OOPU), which depends on the hospital Pharmacy Service, responds to the pharmacotherapeutic intervention needs of patients who come to the hospital’s outpatient clinic regarding the use of their medication.
Its purpose is to improve the efficiency and safety of pharmacological treatments, as well as to ensure dispensing and adherence to outpatient treatments using drugs classified as “for hospital use” or “hospital dispensing”.
Healthcare Products
The Pharmacy Department manages the centre’s medical supplies, from procurement, through correct storage and conservation, to dispensing.
In this regard, the Service has various warehouses, including a surgical supplies warehouse controlled by radiofrequency antennas, which allows for the supplies to be directly allocated to the patient, thereby ensuring proper traceability from the purchase to the application.
Pharmacy Service Medical Team
Head of Service
Associated Pharmacists
Margarita Carbonell Castelló
Ismael Pastor Climente
Yolanda Colomer Nieves
Isabel de los Desamparados Benet Giménez
Marta Monroy Ruiz
Álvaro Gómez Perales