Search

Background: As a result of COVID-19, numerous adaptations were made to health care delivery, including comprehensive medication management (CMM) delivered in community pharmacies., Objective: Identify and describe the adaptations that have been made to the delivery of CMM among community pharmacies due to COVID-19., Methods: Community pharmacies participating in a CMM implementation and research initiative had regular coaching calls throughout COVID-19 and completed a survey of changes that occurred as a result of COVID-19. Coaching notes and survey results were summarized and mapped to the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Enhanced (FRAME) to systematically capture changes that occurred., Results: A number of reactive adaptations were made to CMM delivery as a result of COVID-19, including increased virtual or remote delivery of CMM, delaying CMM visits to allow pharmacies to provide care directly related to the pandemic including COVID-19 testing and vaccines, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) in visits, new ways of obtaining clinical patient information, and shifting CMM staffing models., Conclusion: Adaptations that occurred to CMM during COVID-19 allowed pharmacists to continue to serve their patients and meet public health needs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 The Authors.)

Introduction: There is a critical need to establish and teach a uniform pharmacists' patient care process (PPCP) to create consistency in the profession. Little is known about preceptor incorporation of the PPCP into experiential teaching., Methods: Using a pre-/post-program survey, this study aimed to characterize preceptors' perception of PPCP incorporation in teaching, confidence in PPCP articulation to team members and students, and ability to identify precepting strategies before and after completing a continuing education (CE) webinar., Results: 103 of the 158 preceptors enrolled in the CE program completed pre-/post-program surveys. Preceptors' perception of PPCP incorporation with introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) students did not change significantly after the program (1.98 vs. 1.88, p = 0.317). However, advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) preceptors were less likely to strongly agree to PPCP incorporation after completing the program (1.91 vs. 1.72, p = 0.016). Preceptors felt increased confidence in their ability to articulate the PPCP to both team members (2.07 vs. 1.60, p = 0.000) and students (2.01 vs. 1.63, p = 0.000). Preceptors strongly agreed they had new strategies to use in precepting., Conclusion: In order to prepare student pharmacists, preceptors must be prepared to explicitly incorporate the PPCP into their teaching. A webinar with case examples and a preceptor tool can help equip preceptors to articulate the PPCP to colleagues and students, and to identify strategies to incorporate the PPCP into their precepting., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective. To determine if the number of patient encounters during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) relates to student self-assessment of patient care skills using entrustable professional activities (EPAs). Methods. During 12-week acute care/institutional (AC/INST) APPEs, 15-week combined community pharmacy and ambulatory care (CPAC) APPEs, and three 5-week AC/INST or CPAC elective APPEs, fourth-year pharmacy students completed patient tracking surveys. Students documented the number of encounters, type of care provided, primary and secondary diagnoses, and special dosing/population considerations. Students completed self-assessment surveys for 12 EPAs. Students rated their ability to perform each EPA using a four-point scale (1=still developing this skill; 4=can do this independently) at the start and after each APPE semester. Results. Data were collected from May 2016 through April 2017. During this time, 165 students completed APPEs. Students reported 79,717 encounters. There was no significant correlation found between total number of encounters and EPA scores. The baseline EPA mean score was 3.1 and semester 3 EPA mean score was 3.7. The mean student-reported EPA scores did increase over time, some more quickly than others. Conclusion. Tracking student patient encounters provided insight into the quantity and variety of patients and conditions seen and level of care provided by students during APPEs. Mean scores on EPAs increased over time with increased exposure to patients. Patient tracking can be used to inform the curriculum by identifying potential gaps in both didactic and experiential education., (© 2019 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.)

Introduction: Referrals to community resources represent one element of the Chronic Care Model, however, little is known about the perceived role of community pharmacy staff in referring patients to community resources., Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe community pharmacists', community pharmacy technicians', and patients' perceptions of pharmacist referrals to community resources., Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with community pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and patients from community pharmacies that are members of the Medication Safety Research Network of Indiana (Rx-SafeNet). Qualitative analysis was conducted to identify emergent themes., Results: A total of 37 participants, including six community pharmacists, one pharmacy student completing an advanced pharmacy practice experience, 15 community pharmacy technicians, and 15 patients across four independently-owned community pharmacies were interviewed. Themes included: 1) Need to build on a foundation of strong patient-community pharmacist relationships to clearly define the pharmacist's role in referrals, 2) Need to improve familiarity with community resources, 3) Need to clearly delineate and support the role for pharmacy technicians in making referrals, and 4) Need to follow-up on referrals., Conclusion: To enhance community pharmacy staff provision of referrals to community resources, interventions are needed to improve patient and pharmacist familiarity with available resources, patients' perception of the pharmacist's role outside of prescription fulfillment, and follow-up on referrals. Moreover, pharmacy technician education and training could be expanded to optimize their role in supporting community pharmacists in making referrals., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Statement The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of opioid use before, during, and after pregnancy and describe its use based on patient-specific characteristics. Determine secular trend of opioid use 2006 to 2014., Materials and Methods: Retrospective cohort study. A large Upper Midwest integrated health care system and insurer. Female individuals age 10 to 50 years with a delivery diagnosis from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2014., Main Outcome Measure: prevalence of opioid use before, during, and after pregnancy; description of opioid use during these time periods., Results: From 11,565 deliveries among 9690 unique women, 862 (7.5%) deliveries were associated with significant opioid use. Significant opioid use was associated with single marital status, Cesarean section, Medicaid coverage, tobacco use, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, substance use disorder, nonopioid analgesic use, and referral to physical therapy, psychotherapy, or pain specialists. From 2006 to 2014 opioid use decreased from 9% to 6% before, during, and after pregnancy with a rate of change per year of -0.2%., Discussion: Known risk factors including tobacco and alcohol use, mental health diagnoses, substance use disorder, or Medicaid enrollment may enable enhanced assessments and targeted interventions to reduce unnecessary prescribing and use of opioids among pregnant women and those who might become pregnant. Strategies to decrease opioid use during pregnancy should be considered by health care systems and health plans to reduce opioid prescribing in this patient population.

Introduction: There are ongoing assessment and improvement activities related to strategies to improve the quality of education in the complex and resource-intensive area of experiential education (EE). One undescribed approach for design and delivery of EE programs for schools and colleges, with reliance on volunteer preceptors, is to utilize clinical practice faculty in formal partnerships with EE leadership to enhance curriculum and assessment., Commentary and Implications: Clinical practice faculty, who possess practice setting expertise, can serve as course directors for advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) rotations. In this role, they can collaborate with EE faculty and staff to create more course-specific expectations, learning objectives, and criteria for APPE rotation experiences. This model could increase consistency for students and preceptors, using an approach that is analogous to content experts serving as course directors in didactic curriculum. This commentary explores the potential of this strategy to increase quality and consistency in EE., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To assess the impact of a health plan and community pharmacy partnership to improve blood pressure control., Setting: A midwestern health plan and a regional community pharmacy chain., Practice Innovation: Health plan members with a hypertension diagnosis and attributed to the pharmacy chain based on prescription claims were invited to participate. Interested patients enrolled in the program at their pharmacies and were assigned a "smart card" for use with a blood pressure kiosk in the pharmacy. When the card was used at the kiosk, individual patient readings were linked directly to their electronic pharmacy record and an online patient portal. Pharmacists intervened with patients and prescribers as necessary to address adherence issues and adjust therapy as needed., Evaluation: Before and after blood pressure readings were assessed to determine the impact of patient self-monitoring and pharmacist intervention for patients with 1) uncontrolled blood pressure at first reading and 2) multiple readings throughout the pilot period., Results: Fifty-six of 276 eligible patients (20%) were enrolled in the program. Fourteen patients qualified for before and after assessments, having uncontrolled blood pressure on initial reading and multiple readings throughout the pilot. These patients demonstrated a mean reduction in systolic blood pressure of 12 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure of 8 mm Hg. Nine of 16 eligible pharmacy locations enrolled patients at their sites. Challenges faced in the initiative included gaining adequate pharmacist and patient engagement., Conclusion: The pilot demonstrated promising early results in a model that has potential to improve blood pressure monitoring and management in a community pharmacy setting., (Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore patient perceptions and the practical implication of using a brief 9-item scale to screen for medication-related problems in community pharmacies., Methods: Semistructured, audio-recorded, telephonic interviews were conducted with 40 patients who completed the scale and reviewed its results with their pharmacist. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative methods to identify themes., Results: Patients generally reported the scale was simple to complete and could be used easily in other community pharmacies. Participants shared they had increased understanding of their medications and confidence that their medication therapy was appropriate. Several patients reported having actual medication-related problems identified and resolved through the use of the scale. Patients also reported improved relationships with pharmacists and heightened belief in the value provided by pharmacists., Conclusions: This screening tool may have value in increasing patients' understanding of and confidence in their medications, enhancing pharmacist-patient relationships, and identifying problems requiring additional interventions.

Objective: To describe an innovative community pharmacy-based pilot program using technology to support transitions of care for patients living in rural areas., Setting: This service occurred through a partnership between 1 independent community pharmacy organization with 5 locations in Ohio and Indiana and one 92-bed general medical and surgical county hospital during May 2014 to May 2015., Practice Description and Innovation: Community pharmacists worked with patients immediately following discharge to reconcile their medications and make recommendations to optimize therapy. The pharmacy packaged their new medication regimen in clear, individual dose adherence packaging. Medications were delivered by a staff driver to the patient's home within 72 hours of discharge. Patients consulted with the pharmacist by videoconference using a computer tablet device. Patients received telephone follow-up shortly before their medication supply was to run out, and additionally as needed on an individual basis., Evaluation: Self-reported hospital readmissions were collected at 30 and 180 days after enrollment. Patient satisfaction data were also collected at 30 and 180 days using a tool modified from the 5-item Transition Measure (15-item Care Transitions Measure)., Results: Eighteen patients participated in the evaluation of the pilot. Three patients were readmitted within 30 days (17%), and 2 additional patients were readmitted within 180 days (11%). Patient satisfaction results were positive overall. Lessons learned relate to establishing partnerships, logistics, and patient engagement. These lessons will assist future community pharmacies in implementing a transition of care service., Conclusion: This pharmacist care model may offer a solution to increase access to pharmacy services for patients in rural areas during a critical transition in care., (Copyright © 2016 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To identify and describe the steps and strategies that community pharmacies with established medication management services have used to integrate medication management services into their practice settings., Design: Qualitative case study with semistructured interviews and focus groups., Setting: Community pharmacy organizations in Minnesota., Participants: Pharmacists and pharmacy leadership from 4 different pharmacy organizations including independent, chain, and health system pharmacies., Intervention: Not applicable., Main Outcome Measures: Qualitative case study analysis of community pharmacy management and pharmacists' perceptions of the factors that led to the establishment and sustainability of their medication management programs., Results: Focus groups and interviews were undertaken with 25 pharmacists and pharmacy leaders from 4 distinct community pharmacy organizations from April to June 2015. Five themes emerged, representing specific implementation and continuation stages of medication management services in community practice: Deciding to Act, Setting the Stage, Executing the Service, Sticking to It, and Continuing to Grow., Conclusion: This study sheds light on key stages that have commonly occurred across community pharmacies that are delivering medication management services. The results of this work may serve as a road map for other community pharmacies looking to integrate medication management services into their own practice settings., (Copyright © 2016 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The profession of pharmacy is facing a shifting health system context that holds both opportunity and risk. If the profession of pharmacy is to advance, pharmacists must be recognized as a consistent member of the health care team in all clinical settings, contributing at the fullest extent of licensure and education. One part of achieving this broad goal is to implement a new way of defining and assessing pharmacy practice skills, such as entrustable professional activities (EPA). Assessment of professional tasks and practice activities with EPAs has been successfully implemented in medical education for assessing trainee preparation for practice. This EPA model is being applied to pharmacy education to develop an assessment framework across the advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) curriculum. The APPE course directors, practice faculty members, and the Office of Experiential Education collaboratively defined a set of universal EPAs critical for pharmacists in any practice setting and would be assessed in all practice experience types.

Objective: To describe common facilitators, challenges, and lessons learned in 5 schools and colleges of pharmacy in establishing community pharmacy research fellowships., Setting: Five schools and colleges of pharmacy in the United States., Practice Description: Schools and colleges of pharmacy with existing community partnerships identified a need and ability to develop opportunities for pharmacists to engage in advanced research training., Practice Innovation: Community pharmacy fellowships, each structured as 2 years long and in combination with graduate coursework, have been established at the University of Pittsburgh, Purdue University, East Tennessee State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and The Ohio State University., Evaluation: Program directors from each of the 5 community pharmacy research fellowships identified common themes pertaining to program structure, outcomes, and lessons learned to assist others planning similar programs., Results: Common characteristics across the programs include length of training, prerequisites, graduate coursework, mentoring structure, and immersion into a pharmacist patient care practice. Common facilitators have been the existence of strong community pharmacy partnerships, creating a fellowship advisory team, and networking. A common challenge has been recruitment, with many programs experiencing at least one year without filling the fellowship position. All program graduates (n = 4) have been successful in securing pharmacy faculty positions., Conclusion: Five schools and colleges of pharmacy share similar experiences in implementing community pharmacy research fellowships. Early outcomes show promise for this training pathway in growing future pharmacist-scientists focused on community pharmacy practice., (Copyright © 2016 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To assess the impact of passive and active promotional strategies on patient acceptance of medication therapy management (MTM) services, and to identify reasons for patient acceptance or refusal., Methods: Four promotional approaches were developed to offer MTM services to eligible patients, including letters and bag stuffers ("passive" approaches), and face-to-face offers and telephone calls ("active" approaches). Thirty pharmacies in a grocery store chain were randomized to one of the four approaches. Patient acceptance rates were compared among the four groups, and between active and passive approaches using hierarchical logistic regression techniques. Depending on their decision to accept or decline the service, patients were invited to take part in one of two brief telephone surveys., Results: No significant differences were identified among the four promotional methods or between active and passive methods in the analyses. Patients' most frequent reasons for accepting MTM services were potential cost savings, review of how the medications were working, the expert opinion of the pharmacist, and education about medications. Patients' most frequent reasons for declining MTM services were that the participant already felt comfortable with their medications and felt their pharmacist provides these services on a regular basis., Conclusion: No significant difference was found among any of the four groups or between active or passive approaches. Further research is warranted to identify strategies for improving patient engagement in MTM services.

Objective: This study was designed to better understand perceived barriers and facilitators to providing medication therapy management (MTM) services by pharmacists who recently provided telephonic MTM services to home health care patients. These services were provided as part of a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) to develop suggested quality improvement strategies for future service design., Design: This was a qualitative study. A semi-structured individual interview format was used to elicit responses., Setting: Interviews were conducted by phone with participants., Participants: All pharmacists who recently provided telephonic MTM services as a part of an RCT participated in this study., Interventions: Pharmacists were asked questions regarding their perceptions of the services, training opportunities, patient perceptions of the services, interactions with physicians, and suggestions for improvement. General demographic information was collected for each pharmacist and summarized using descriptive statistics. Interview data were analyzed using inductive qualitative methods to reveal key themes related to facilitators and barriers of MTM services in home health care patients., Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome measures were major themes identified from pharmacist interviews pertaining to barriers, facilitators, and quality improvement strategies for telephonic MTM delivery., Results: A total of four pharmacists (i.e., 100% of those who participated in the prior RCT) were interviewed. Several themes emerged from the analysis, including: communication and relationships, coordinating care and patient self-management, logistics, professional fulfillment, service delivery and content, and training opportunities., Conclusions: This study provides possible strategies to overcome barriers and facilitate service provision for future telephonic MTM services.

Background: Medication therapy management (MTM) services position pharmacists to prevent, detect, and resolve medication-related problems (MRPs.) However, selecting patients for MTM who are most at risk for MRPs is a challenge. Using self-administered scales that are practical for use in clinical practice are one approach., Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the psychometric properties of a brief self-administered scale as a screening tool for MRPs., Methods: This was a non-randomized study utilizing questionnaires administered cross-sectionally. In Phase 1, patients (n = 394) at community pharmacies and outpatient clinics completed 78 items, provided to the study team by item authors, assessing perceived MRPs. These data were used to select items for further investigation as a brief, self-administered scale, and estimate the reliability and construct validity of the resulting instrument. In Phase 2, a convenience sample of patients (n = 200) at community pharmacies completed a nine-item, self-administered scale. After completion, they were engaged in a comprehensive medication review by their pharmacist who was blinded to questionnaire responses. The main outcome measure for estimating the criterion-related validity of the scale was the number of pharmacist-identified medication-related problems (MRPs.) Item statistics were computed as well as bivariate associations between scale scores and other variables with MRPs. A multivariate model was constructed to examine the influence of scale scores on MRPs after controlling for other significant variables., Results: Higher scores on the questionnaire were positively correlated with more pharmacist-identified MRPs (r = 0.24; P = 0.001) and scores remained as a significant predictor (P = 0.031) when controlling for other relevant variables in a multivariate regression model (R(2) = 0.21; P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Patient responses on the scale may have a modest role in predicting MRPs. The use of self-administered questionnaires such as this may supplement other available patient data in developing patient eligibility criteria for MTM, however, additional research is warranted., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To describe patients' perceptions of electronic (e)-prescribing and its impact on patients' quality of care, interactions with prescribers and pharmacists, and engagement in health care overall, particularly in regard to medication use., Methods: Semistructured, one-on-one interviews with 12 patients., Results: Patients were generally unfamiliar with the functions of integrated e-prescribing systems and did not perceive that use of such technology affected their relationships with providers. Those respondents having positive perceptions of, and experiences with e-prescribing mostly cited convenience and improvements in safety and quality, while patients with negative e-prescribing perceptions and experiences primarily expressed concern about loss of control in the medication-use process, misdirected prescriptions, and reduced communication with prescribers and pharmacists., Conclusion: Patients generally felt unaffected by the use of e-prescribing technology; however, there may be opportunities to better engage and educate patients, particularly at the point of prescribing.

Study Objective: To identify predictors of medication-related problems (MRPs) among Medicaid patients participating in a telephonic medication therapy management (MTM) program., Design: Retrospective analysis of data from patients enrolled in a previously published study., Data Sources: Two Medicaid administrative claims file databases (for health care utilization and prescription dispensing information) and one pharmacy organization file for MTM program information., Patients: Seven hundred twelve adult Medicaid patients who participated in a statewide pharmacist-provided telephone-based MTM program and who received an initial medication therapy review., Measurements and Main Results: The primary dependent variable was the number of MRPs detected during the initial medication therapy review. Secondary dependent variables were the detection of one or more MRPs related to indication, effectiveness, safety, and adherence. Predictor variables were selected a priori that, from the literature and our own practice experiences, were hypothesized as being potentially associated with MRPs: demographics, comorbidities, medication use, and health care utilization. Bivariate analyses were performed, and multivariable models were constructed. All predictor variables with significant associations (defined a priori as p<0.1) with the median number of MRPs detected were then entered into a three-block multiple linear regression model. The overall model was significant (p<0.001, R(2)  = 0.064). Significant predictors of any MRPs (p<0.05) were total number of medications, obesity, dyslipidemia, and one or more emergency department visits in the past 3 months. For indication-related MRPs, the model was significant (p<0.001, R(2)  = 0.049), and predictors included female sex, obesity, dyslipidemia, and total number of medications (p<0.05). For effectiveness-related MRPs, the model was significant (p<0.001, R(2)  = 0.054), and predictors included bone disease and dyslipidemia (p<0.05). For safety-related MRPs, the model was significant (p<0.001, R(2)  = 0.046), and dyslipidemia was a predictor (p<0.05). No significant predictors of adherence-related MRPs were identified., Conclusion: This analysis supports the relative importance of number of medications as a predictor of MRPs in the Medicaid population and identifies other predictors. However, given the models' low R(2) values, these findings indicate that other unknown factors are clearly important and that criteria commonly used for determining MTM eligibility may be inadequate in identifying appropriate patients for MTM in a Medicaid population., (© 2014 Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc.)

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a telephonic medication therapy management (MTM) service on reducing hospitalizations among home health patients., Setting: Forty randomly selected, geographically diverse home health care centers in the United States., Design: Two-stage, randomized, controlled trial with 60-day follow-up. All Medicare- insured home health care patients were eligible to participate. Twenty-eight consecutive patients within each care center were recruited and randomized to usual care or MTM intervention. The MTM intervention consisted of the following: (1) initial phone call by a pharmacy technician to verify active medications; (2) pharmacist-provided medication regimen review by telephone; and (3) follow-up pharmacist phone calls at day seven and as needed for 30 days. The primary outcome was 60-day all-cause hospitalization., Data Collection: Data were collected from in-home nursing assessments using the OASIS-C. Multivariate logistic regression modeled the effect of the MTM intervention on the probability of hospitalization while adjusting for patients' baseline risk of hospitalization, number of medications taken daily, and other OASIS-C data elements., Principal Findings: A total of 895 patients (intervention n = 415, control n = 480) were block-randomized to the intervention or usual care. There was no significant difference in the 60-day probability of hospitalization between the MTM intervention and control groups (Adjusted OR: 1.26, 95 percent CI: 0.89-1.77, p = .19). For patients within the lowest baseline risk quartile (n = 232), the intervention group was three times more likely to remain out of the hospital at 60 days (Adjusted OR: 3.79, 95 percent CI: 1.35-10.57, p = .01) compared to the usual care group., Conclusions: This MTM intervention may not be effective for all home health patients; however, for those patients with the lowest-risk profile, the MTM intervention prevented patients from being hospitalized at 60 days., (© Health Research and Educational Trust.)

In 2010, the Purdue University College of Pharmacy established the Medication Safety Research Network of Indiana (Rx-SafeNet), the first practice-based research network (PBRN) in Indiana comprised solely of community pharmacies. In the development of Rx-SafeNet and through our early project experiences, we identified several "lessons learned." We share our story and what we learned in an effort to further advance the work of the greater PBRN community. We have formed the infrastructure for Rx-SafeNet, including an Executive Committee, Advisory Board, member pharmacies/site coordinators, and Project Review Team. To date, 22 community pharmacies have joined and we have recently completed data collection for the network's first project. Lessons learned during the development of Rx-SafeNet may benefit PBRNs nationally. Although community pharmacy PBRNs are not yet commonplace in the U.S., we believe their development and subsequent research efforts serve as an important avenue for investigating medication use issues.