Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center - Houston, Texas
Pharmacy Residencies Overview
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Overview |
As a member of one of the world's largest integrated health systems, the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) serves as the primary health care provider for almost 130,000 Veterans in southeast Texas. This facility includes outpatient clinics in Beaumont, Conroe, Galveston, Katy, Lake Jackson, Lufkin, Richmond, Texas City, and Tomball. The MEDVAMC outpatient clinics log over one million outpatient visits annually.
For more than 50 years, the MEDVAMC has provided clinical training for healthcare professionals through affiliations with the Baylor College of Medicine and four colleges of pharmacy. MEDVAMC operates one of the largest VA residency programs with over 270 slots in forty sub-specialties. Over 2,000 pharmacy, nursing, dietetics, social work, physical therapy, and medical students receive training at the MEDVAMC each year.
Located on a 119-acre campus, the MEDVAMC is a state-of-the-art facility with 349 acute care hospital beds, a 40-bed Spinal Cord Injury Center, and a 111-bed Community Living Center for long-term care. The MEDVAMC uses robotic computer-controlled helpmates to transport medications, food, and supplies to patient care areas. Additionally, the outpatient pharmacy uses a robotics system to fill more than 1,000 prescriptions daily.
The pharmacy service is progressive and growing. Over 45 clinical pharmacy specialists and 75 clinical pharmacists provide patient care services in a variety of specialties. Clinical pharmacy specialists and PGY2 pharmacy residents with a scope of practice have a unique role within VA’s patient-centered care model due to their extensive experience in managing complex medication regimens to treat the most common chronic disease states. This scope of practice includes collaborative medication management, which entails collaborative agreements with physicians or other independent practitioners wherein clinical pharmacists may perform some or all facets of comprehensive medication management. This may include the authority to prescribe medication regimens, order related laboratory tests, and perform physical measurement and objective assessments to facilitate patient care. There are many opportunities to develop innovative and advanced patient care practices at this facility.
