National Pharmacy Week

Cooper University Health Care’s Pharmacy teams provide a variety of services to ensure the safe and effective use of medications throughout the health system. They are committed to education and training consistent with the philosophy and objectives of a teaching hospital and to providing our patients with the highest standard of pharmaceutical care.

Our Pharmacy teams review more than 3 million medication orders per year. They also document more than 100,000 clinical medication interventions to ensure patient safety and optimal therapy. This includes unit dose dispensing, Omnicell optimization, medication reconciliation, computerized order entry, drug information, physician order review, processing orders, compounding, and drug monitoring, including drug-drug, drug-food, and drug-allergy interactions, as well as reviewing drug-lab values. They also prepare IV therapies such as chemotherapy, antibiotics, and neonatal/pediatric doses. They ensure appropriate drug concentrations and monitor the rate of administration.

Additional responsibilities of the Pharmacy team include:

• Providing complete pharmaceutical care to each patient to achieve desired clinical outcomes in the most cost-efficient manner.
• Acting as a resource for hospital team members for proper prescribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring of medications.
• Providing education to hospital team members.
• Participating with interdisciplinary teams to improve health outcomes.

Pharmacy at Cooper University Hospital

The Pharmacy Department at Cooper University Hospital in Camden is staffed with an administrative director, clinical director, pharmacy managers/supervisors, clinical pharmacy specialists, pharmacists, technicians, and administrative support staff. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Outpatient Oncology Infusion satellite pharmacies operate Monday through Friday during regular business hours.

Clinical activities performed by our clinical and patient care pharmacists include multidisciplinary and physician rounds, patient chart reviews, pharmacokinetic monitoring, drug utilization evaluations, drug information, in-service education, antimicrobial stewardship, medication safety initiatives, 340B program coordination, and participation in research protocols. Also, we received an ASHP accreditation for our first Cooper University Hospital PGY2 Emergency Medicine Pharmacy Residency.

The Camden Pharmacy team is involved in the education of pharmacy students from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Jefferson College of Pharmacy. Clinical rotations for pharmacy students are conducted under the direct supervision of the clinical pharmacy specialists. Hospital pharmacy students rotate through the department for exposure to the roles of pharmacy in a heath care setting. Additionally, through an affiliation with Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, PGY2 residents participate in departmental and clinical activities.

See photos of our Camden team below.

Pharmacy at Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional

Congratulations to Patrick Mata, PharmD, Pharmacy Supervisor, for being named the Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional Pharmacy Team Member of the Year. Patrick was recognized for his outstanding service and exemplary embodiment of our service standards—being positive, engaged, and proactive.

Patrick has played a crucial role in the successful implementation of the Epic System within the Cooper Cape Regional Department of Pharmacy Services. His commitment and leadership have had a lasting impact on the team and hospital operations.

A graduate of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, Patrick earned his PharmD in 2018. He completed his Pharmacy Residency Program at Cooper Cape Regional the same year and immediately joined the team as Pharmacy Manager.

Congratulations, Patrick, on this well-deserved honor!