Feasibility of a centralized specialty biologic medication management clinic at a VA hospital.

BACKGROUND: Given the cost and complexity of home subcutaneous biologic use, a centralized specialty medication management (CSMM) service was developed utilizing clinical pharmacist practitioners (CPPs). OBJECTIVE: To determine the implementation feasibility of the CSMM service. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: The CSMM service was implemented in a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospital. The VHA does not use dedicated specialty pharmacies. PRACTICE INNOVATION: The CSMM service was developed utilizing CPPs who operated as an advance practice provider under a national VHA scope of practice. The CPP staffing the CSMM service performed patient education, screened for medication appropriateness, and monitored for safety and efficacy via videoconference or telephone. All patients newly starting a home subcutaneous biologic were offered the service from allergy, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, and rheumatology clinics, as appropriate. EVALUATION METHODS: A retrospective chart review was completed through the first year the service was offered, which included the recruitment and retention of patients, number of follow-up appointments, and interventions made. RESULTS: Of the 68 patients offered clinic enrollment, 54 were enrolled in the service (79.4%). Of the 44 who had completed an initial appointment with the CPP, 42 had either received an initial follow-up or were scheduled for a follow-up (95.5%). A total of 161 clinical outcomes have been performed by the CSMM CPP including administrative assistance (33.5%), initial patient education (17.4%), technique correction (7.5%), and medication changes or discontinuations (6.8%). CONCLUSION: Given the high rate of enrollment and retention, the implementation of the CSMM service at a VA hospital was feasible. The service contributed to safe and effective medication use for enrolled patients and continues to grow in both patient enrollment and services offered.

Implementation and evaluation of an interprofessional physical assessment skills workshop for Wisconsin pharmacists.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists have a critical, expanding role in health care delivery. In particular, pharmacists in community pharmacy and ambulatory care settings are important and frequent access points for health care services. OBJECTIVE: We describe the interprofessional development and implementation of an interactive, broadly applicable physical assessment skills-based continuing pharmacy education program to provide an avenue for the attainment of this warranted set of skills for pharmacists who desire to provide advanced patient care services in their respective practices. METHODS: Pharmacists, in collaboration with family medicine and emergency medicine physicians, developed workshop content, design, and flow. The structure of the workshops consisted of didactic training, hands-on practical application, simulated practice, and case-based certification examinations. RESULTS: On a postworkshop survey, all respondents answered "agree" or "strongly agree" when asked if the workshops were useful, advanced their skills, and advanced their confidence. It was also found that more than 50% of the participants used their physical assessment skills monthly and 11% daily. The most common assessment performed was obtaining an accurate manual blood pressure. CONCLUSION: The interprofessional development and implementation of workshops dedicated to physical assessment skills education is feasible and led to the incorporation of these skills into pharmacists' practice, particularly in the community and ambulatory care settings.

Quality and access outcomes in 2 Veterans Health Administration facilities with fidelity to the comprehensive medication management framework.

DISCLAIMER: In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. PURPOSE: Utilization of clinical pharmacists providing comprehensive medication management (CMM) has been shown to improve the quadruple aim of healthcare. Lack of fidelity surrounding CMM practice standardization components has led to heterogeneity in interpretation of clinical pharmacist outcomes. We compared 2 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities with the patient-aligned care team (PACT) Platinum Practice designation in terms of clinical pharmacist practitioner (CPP) access and care quality relative to national CPP averages. METHODS: All data was extracted from the VHA Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) and reports derived from data within the CDW. Within the fiscal year 2019-2020 timeframe, the PACT Platinum Practice facilities were assessed against a national average comparator on quality and access metrics using electronic VHA databases that capture data on patient visits with a CPP. For the evaluation of care quality, an electronic composite score of diabetes and hypertension metrics was used. Third next available appointment for the primary care provider (PCP) and CPP utilization were used as measures of access. RESULTS: Compared to national averages, the PACT Platinum Practice facilities had a higher proportion of patients meeting the evaluated quality metric across all months of the study period. For access, the mean time to the third next available primary care appointment was lower for the PACT Platinum Practice facilities compared to the national average. PACT Platinum sites had CPP utilization rates higher than national averages across the study period, and these rates remained stable. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated improved quality and access outcomes for 2 VA medical centers designated as PACT Platinum Practice sites relative to national averages. This is important because these practices have been evaluated and shown to have fidelity with the CMM practice management component. Evaluation of outcomes removing the element of practice heterogeneity allows for a more standardized comparison of outcome measures.

Integration of a clinical pharmacist practitioner-led pharmacogenomics service in a Veterans Affairs hematology/oncology clinic.

PURPOSE: This article describes the implementation and evaluation of pharmacogenomic testing within the hematology/oncology ambulatory care clinic at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI. SUMMARY: The Pharmacogenomic Testing for Veterans (PHASER) program provides preemptive pharmacogenomic testing for veterans nationally. Program implementation at the Madison Veterans Affairs site began in the hematology/oncology clinic with the goal of integrating the offer for pharmacogenomic testing, testing completion, and review of the results by the hematology/oncology clinical pharmacist practitioner (CPP) into current workflows to create a sustainable process for PHASER. The hematology/oncology CPP designed workflows outlining how testing would be offered to patients, how results would be reported and to whom, and how documentation would occur in the electronic medical record. Veterans are offered preemptive PHASER testing, before needing therapy requiring pharmacogenomic results. Exceptions to pharmacogenomic testing were patients with a history of liver or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. CONCLUSION: This article provides a summary of the role of the hematology/oncology CPP in the implementation of a pharmacogenomics service and the impact on medication management in a hematology/oncology clinic.

Impact of a novel project management course sequence on innovative thinking in pharmacy students.

BACKGROUND: As healthcare continues to become more complex, pharmacist innovators have worked to advance the profession and expand the role of the pharmacist on the healthcare team. Accreditation standards for schools of pharmacy recognize the importance of developing future pharmacist innovators capable of making positive change in the profession, but there are limited resources available on how to best instill innovative thinking in student pharmacists. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY: A two-semester elective course sequence was created for third-year doctor of pharmacy students requiring completion of a longitudinal quality improvement project at a partnering health system. Students collaborated with key stakeholders to design a project plan and charter, identify deliverables, and deliver project results. Innovative thinking was assessed using a mixed methods approach including questionnaires with forced choice and open response items, focus group data, and semi-structured interviews. Each questionnaire item mapped specifically to an element of a validated model for employee innovation. From the beginning to the end of the course sequence, there were significant improvements in student-perceived project management self-efficacy and innovative thinking. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY: Student learning outcomes and the course structure mapped closely with a validated model of innovative behavior, demonstrating the effectiveness of utilizing project management to instill innovative thinking in student pharmacists. These findings support the concept that innovative thinking can be taught in pharmacy didactic curricula by situating students in the environment of real-world pharmacy practice.

Implementation of a Protocol to Manage Patients at Risk for Hospitalization Due to an Ambulatory Care Sensitive Condition.

BACKGROUND: Ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs), such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, congestive heart failure, urinary tract infections, asthma, dehydration, bacterial pneumonia, angina without an in-hospital procedure, and perforated appendix put patients at risk for hospitalization. Currently at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, no standardized process or protocol exists that can identify and optimize primary care for patients with ACSCs who have been hospitalized but are predicted to be at low risk for rehospitalization. METHODS: This project aimed to evaluate the implementation of offering further referrals and care for these patients. A pharmacy resident conducted a baseline chart review using a standardized template in the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Computerized Patient Record System to identify additional referrals or interventions a patient may benefit from based on any identified ACSC. Potential referral options included a clinical pharmacy specialist or nurse care manager disease management, whole health/wellness, educational classes, home monitoring equipment, specialty clinics, nutrition, cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation, social work, and mental health. RESULTS: Comparing the 3 months prior to and the 3 months after offering referrals, there was a cumulative quantitative decrease in the number of emergency department visits (5 to 1) and hospitalizations (11 to 5). CONCLUSIONS: Identifying patients at risk for hospitalization from an ACSC via a review and referral process by using the VA patient aligned care team structure was feasible and led to increased patient access to primary care and additional services.

Reducing COPD Readmission Rates: Using a COPD Care Service During Care Transitions.

A chronic obstructive pulmonary disease care service improves timely access to follow-up care and patient education at the time of transition from hospital to home.