Current status of clinical pharmacy workforce, services and clinical pharmacist recruitment in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

OBJECTIVES: Clinical pharmacy practices in Vietnam have not been well studied. We aimed to describe clinical pharmacy practices in terms of workforce, activities and the recruitment demand for clinical pharmacists (CPs) in hospitals.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted, and 123 questionnaires were distributed to Heads/Deputy heads of Pharmacy department and Boards of directors in all of hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam between August 2018 and June 2019.
RESULTS: There were 187 CPs in 79 participating hospitals, whereas the ratio of CPs per 100 patient beds was 0.67. The median number of CPs was 2 (1-4), with a significantly low median full time equivalent [0.4 (1, 2)]. The income of CPs was significantly low. Antibiotics were the most common medications that CPs discussed with physicians (93.06%). Interventions commonly performed by CPs were "Checking drug interactions" (77.78%), "Counseling physicians about the route of administration" (61.11%), "Checking drug allergies" (51.39%). The median number of CPs needed to recruit according to Heads/Deputy heads of Pharmacy Department and Boards of directors was 2 (1-3) and 2 (1-3.5), respectively.
CONCLUSION: The shortage of CPs, which was likely attributable to low income, might lead to numerous obstacles for delivering comprehensive healthcare services. Thus, the hospital recruitment strategies should focus on salary and benefits to attract more CPs, especially those with postgraduate degree.