How to write a Pharmaceutical Care Plan (FARM or SOAP-M NOTE)
Don't get hung up on whether it's FARM (Findings, Assessment, Recommendation, Monitoring) or SOAP-M (Subjective/Objective, Assessment, Plan, Monitoring), it's the same thing! It's the process that is important. Each section builds upon the previous section. So in the assessment, if you state that a person is having a HF exacerbation due to nonadherence, then you should have all the findings above it to support that assessment.
(F)indings or (S/O):
Should be bulleted
Should list ALL findings pertinent to the problem discussed including pertinent PMH, current/past medications, relevant labs etc.
Do NOT include findings that are not pertinent to the problem (in other words only relevant findings should be documented). By listing non-pertinent findings, you are demonstrating that you do not know what is important.
(A)ssessment: This is the most critical part of your pharmaceutical care plan since it shows what YOU think of the problem and treatment. Your assessment should be written in paragraph format (2-4 sentences) using appropriate grammar and spelling. Key areas that should be addressed for assessment (of the disease and treatment) include; is the problem stable or unstable, controlled or uncontrolled, is an intervention necessary and justification for why you feel the intervention is necessary or not, is the treatment appropriate or inappropriate. Individualized goals of therapy also belong here. DO NOT REPEAT FINDINGS (Subjective/Objective) (R)ecommendation or (P)lan: List all recommendations you would make for this problem. Include:
pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic recommendations.
any counseling patient may need with regards to the recommendations you made
Use bullet points
Be direct and specific, including doses, frequency, administration where necessary.
(M)onitoring/Counseling:
This can be bulleted. Remember to list monitoring parameters…not what the outcome you are concerned about.
You should state specific EFFICACY monitoring parameters and the specific frequency with which you should assess these specific monitoring parameters.
For each and every new medication, you should list the specific toxicity monitoring parameters for that specific drug along with the specific frequency with which you should assess them.