Background In the Capital Regional Pharmacy in Denmark ward top up service is described according to a contract, where the role of both the pharmacist and the pharmacy technician is outlined. The role of the pharmacist as the academic support for the ward top up service was not well defined, and the result of the pharmacist support has been poorer than expected.

Purpose By development of a model for the pharmacist role, is has been possible to involve the pharmacist in ward top up service successfully. The aim of this project is to document the work done by clinical pharmacist in ward top up service. The pharmacist role in ward top up service has been describes in ‘an annual cycle’, where each task is outlined in a description. All together 39 tasks are described and evenly distributed through the year. By creating an annual cycle of the role of the pharmacist in ward top up service, each pharmacist is now able to have an overview what is expected and when it is expected.

Materials and methods All pharmacist and pharmacist technicians working with ward top up service where invited to define and debate the future role of the pharmacists as an academic support. In a consensus-conference 39 tasks where defined, each task needed precise description and needed a plan for implementation. To meet that need, the authors developed the annual cycle.

Results It was seen that after implementing the annual cycle the role of the pharmacist was more clearly defined. The pharmacist, both new and senior know what is expected and how they can meet the demands outlined in the contract for ward top up service. Further more is the pharmacy technicians confident with the new role of the pharmacist, and they know exactly what they can expect. Together with the annual cycle, the authors introduced a receipt form to document the activities of the pharmacist in ward top up service. It is useful for the pharmacist to overview the tasks that have been done and future tasks. The receipt form is evaluated every month in the group of ward top up pharmacists together with there leader. The purpose is to continuously work with the role of pharmacist in ward top up service and ensure training a competence development of individual pharmacists.

Conclusions By clearly define the role of ward top up service pharmacist and by introducing described tasks, including a receipt form, the pharmacists now work successfully in ward top up service.