The role of the pharmacist in the management of kidney transplant recipients

Pharmacists may play a key role on the multidisciplinary transplant team. This article describes the development and current status of pharmacists in the management of transplant recipients in the United States. Traditionally, pharmacists played an important support role in transplant medicine. This role has been expanded to include direct patient care for the avoidance, detection, and/or treatment of side effects from the polypharmacy necessary in the management of these complex patients. Pharmacists provide pre- and post-transplant education to transplant recipients to enhance adherence to complicated medical regimens and thereby reduce readmission to hospital and unscheduled, costly visits to urgent care centers and/or hospital emergency departments.