The Consensus Recommendations for Clinical Pharmacist Integration into the Acute Stroke Care Team have been reviewed and endorsed by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, Neurocritical Care Society, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and Society of Critical Care Medicine. In addition, the American Academy of Neurology has affirmed the value of these recommendations.

Clinical pharmacists are increasingly recognized as vital contributors to acute stroke care, yet their role remains inconsistently defined and underused across health care systems. This consensus statement explores the expanding presence of clinical pharmacists within interdisciplinary stroke teams, particularly in the management of both acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and hemorrhagic stroke. An interprofessional panel of 17 experts, led by ACCP members Brian Gilbert and Caitlin Brown, reviewed the published literature and developed a consensus in adherence to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology.

Despite the very low quality of evidence, a consensus was reached for the following recommendations: (1) clinical pharmacist involvement in AIS care for adult patients presenting to the ED and (2) clinical pharmacist involvement in hemorrhagic stroke care for adult patients presenting to the ED. A critical factor in improving time-sensitive treatment and equity in care delivery is integrating the clinical pharmacist into the acute stroke care team. The recommendations are published open access in the July 2026 issue of JACCP.