National Pharmacist Day 2025: The Role of Long-Term Care Pharmacists

Every day, we celebrate the invaluable support, expertise, and insights pharmacists provide as members of the interdisciplinary care team in various healthcare settings to enhance patient and resident care.

Recently, our pharmacy team shared their insights into the role of long-term care pharmacists and their teams and how they support our clients and their residents.

What are the day-to-day responsibilities of long-term care pharmacists? A long-term care (LTC) pharmacist plays a vital role in ensuring the safe, effective, and appropriate use of medications for residents in facilities such as nursing homes, assisted living, and rehabilitation centers. Their day-to-day responsibilities include a variety of tasks that ensure quality patient care. Some of the key duties are:

Monitoring for Drug Errors: Identifying medication errors or potential issues related to prescriptions, dosages, or administration.

Assessing Compliance: Reviewing medication adherence by residents and identifying any barriers to proper medication use.

Supporting the Prescription Filling Process: Filling newly ordered medications and refills in a timely manner to ensure the residents receive their medications when needed.

How do pharmacists collaborate with other interdisciplinary care team members in long-term care facilities?

Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration: Working with physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to discuss drug therapy management, address concerns, and make recommendations for changes in drug therapy.?

Medication Education: Providing education and counseling to staff (nurses and prescribers) about the proper use of medications, potential side effects, and how to manage them.

IV medication Management: Our IV technicians work alongside our pharmacists to ensure proper dosing.

What role do technology and automation play in your daily workflow?

Our pharmacy uses automation to assist with filling prescription orders, reducing the workload of the pharmacists and allowing them to focus on more clinical-based tasks.? Our newest machine currently fills approximately 4,000 orders per day.?

How do the processes established by MAC Rx promote medication safety and prevent errors, including proper medication management for residents with complex needs?

Pharmacists carefully review each prescription to ensure it is complete, accurate, and appropriate for the patient. They check the drug, dosage, route, and timing. For example, if a medication is ordered to be administered via a G-tube but cannot be crushed, the pharmacist will reach out to the nurse to suggest an alternative. We also use barcode scanning to match medications to patient information, ensuring accuracy. Additionally, pharmacists have access to Electronic records, allowing them to quickly access patient history, including allergies and medication history, before admission.

Can you share about your clinical services and how they support the success of facilities and their residents?

Pharmacist consultants regularly conduct monthly medication management reviews for each facility. Also, if requested, they are available for admission reviews to ensure proper transcription of orders upon admission, in-servicing on disease state management, and provide assistance during annual survey.

Your Partner in Pharmacy Solutions

Looking for a best-in-class partner who can provide you with the most innovative services and technology that supports the needs of your residents? Let our experts at MAC Rx help.?For more information, click here to contact us.