Exploring determinants and strategies for implementing self-management support text messaging interventions in safety net clinics.

Background: Text message-delivered interventions for chronic disease self-management have potential to reduce health disparities, yet limited research has explored implementing these interventions into clinical care. We partnered with safety net clinics to evaluate a texting intervention for type 2 diabetes called REACH (Rapid Encouragement/Education And Communications for Health) in a randomized controlled trial. Following evaluation, we explored potential implementation determinants and recommended implementation strategies. Methods: We interviewed clinic staff (n = 14) and a subset of intervention participants (n = 36) to ask about REACH's implementation potential. Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) as an organizing framework, we coded transcripts and used thematic analysis to derive implementation barriers and facilitators. We integrated the CFIR-ERIC (Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change) Matching Tool, interview feedback, and the literature to recommend implementation strategies. Results: Implementation facilitators included low complexity, strong evidence and quality, available clinic resources, the need for a program to support diabetes self-management, and strong fit between REACH and both the clinics' existing workflows and patients' needs and resources. The barriers included REACH only being available in English, a lack of interoperability with electronic health record systems, patients' concerns about diabetes stigma, limited funding, and high staff turnover. Categories of recommended implementation strategies included training and education, offering flexibility and adaptation, evaluating key processes, and securing funding. Conclusion: Text message-delivered interventions have strong potential for integration in low-resource settings as a supplement to care. Pursuing implementation can ensure patients benefit from these innovations and help close the research to practice gap.

Engaging the community through a longitudinal, interprofessional, interinstitutional experiential learning collaboration.

Background Interprofessional education (IPE) and training in community settings is not commonly described in the literature. Studies primarily focus on clinical education of interprofessional teams in clinical practice and primary care. This is a description of a longitudinal, collaborative interinstitutional IPE project that engages community partners (CP) while delivering core IPE competencies. Interprofessional Education Activity: Twenty-seven students from five universities representing ten healthcare academic programs participated in the project. Participating CP were non-profit agencies developed to meet the needs of specific vulnerable, underserved populations. Students were divided into teams and then paired with CP. This was a six-month project, with students committing to 30 hours over two semesters. At the end of the project, students presented project deliverables to CP, faculty collaborative and other students. Interprofessional education collaborative (IPEC) domains were qualitatively assessed and students completed the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale (ISVS) at the beginning and conclusion of the project. Students provided written reflections at the conclusion of the project. Faculty completed the Team Observed Structured Clinical Encounter (TOSCE). Discussion" Twenty-seven students (100%) students completed the project and twenty-one students (77.8%) completed the evaluation tools. Students demonstrated a statistically significant difference between pre- and post-project ISVS total scores (5.81 +/- 0.64 vs. 6.51 +/- 0.37). Teamwork, communication skills, and increased comfort with those from other professions were common themes in the student reflections. Implications: Community-based IPE provides a venue for healthcare professionals to engage and partner with community organizations. This project demonstrates an effective inter-institutional, interprofessional method of delivering IPE.

Effects of a Tailored Text Messaging Intervention Among Diverse Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: Evidence From the 15-Month REACH Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: Text messaging interventions have high potential for scalability and for reductions in health disparities. However, more rigorous, long-term trials are needed. We examined the long-term efficacy and mechanisms of a tailored text messaging intervention. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Adults with type 2 diabetes participated in a parallel-groups, 15-month randomized controlled trial and were assigned to receive Rapid Education/Encouragement and Communications for Health (REACH) for 12 months or control. REACH included interactive texts and tailored texts addressing medication adherence and nontailored texts supporting other self-care behaviors. Outcomes included hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), diabetes medication adherence, self-care, and self-efficacy. RESULTS: Participants (N = 506) were approximately half racial/ethnic minorities, and half were underinsured, had annual household incomes <$35,000, and had a high school education or less; 11% were homeless. Average baseline HbA1c was 8.6% ± 1.8%; 70.0 ± 19.7 mmol/mol) with n = 219 having HbA1c ≥8.5% (69 mmol/mol). Half were prescribed insulin. Retention was over 90%. Median response rate to interactive texts was 91% (interquartile range 75%, 97%). The treatment effect on HbA1c at 6 months (-0.31%; 95% CI -0.61%, -0.02%) was greater among those with baseline HbA1c ≥8.5% (-0.74%; 95% CI -1.26%, -0.23%), and there was no evidence of effect modification by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic disadvantage. REACH improved medication adherence and diet through 12 months and self-efficacy through 6 months. Treatment effects were not significant for any outcome at 15 months. REACH reduced barriers to adherence, but barrier reduction did not mediate outcome improvements. CONCLUSIONS: REACH engaged at-risk patients in diabetes self-management and improved short-term HbA1c. More than texts alone may be needed to sustain the effects.

Advancing pharmacy technician training and practice models in the United States: Historical perspectives, workforce development needs, and future opportunities.

The United States healthcare system faces immense challenges related to cost, quality, and access. As the pharmacy profession addresses these challenges by shifting toward a practice model centered around direct patient care clinical services, a competent and capable technician workforce is needed to support the roles of pharmacists. Until recently, little focus has been paid to pharmacy technicians or their role as they relate to practice model change. With ongoing pharmacist practice transformation, an approach that ensures uniform technician education, training, registration, and certification is vital to support a practice model designed to transform medication management across the continuum of care. The purpose of this commentary is three-fold: to review the history of pharmacy technician training and practice, discuss current and future technician practice models, and examine workforce development implications.

Student Pharmacists' Personal Finance Perceptions, Projected Indebtedness Upon Graduation, and Career Decision-making.

Objective. To evaluate the extent to which Doctor of Pharmacy students' personal finance perceptions, projected student loan indebtedness, and demographic characteristics predict postgraduation career intentions. Methods. Students at three pharmacy colleges completed a 31-item survey instrument that assessed personal finance perceptions, self-efficacy beliefs, anticipated student loan debt upon graduation, postgraduate intentions, anticipated practice setting upon graduation, and demographic characteristics. Logistic regression models were used to examine the extent to which personal finance perceptions, student loan indebtedness, and demographic characteristics predicted postgraduate intentions and anticipated practice setting. Results. There were 763 usable responses obtained (response rate=90.3%). Students reported an anticipated personal student loan debt at graduation of $162,747 (SD=$87,093) and an estimated 7.4 (SD=5.8) years to pay off non-mortgage debt postgraduation. Fifty-three percent of students reported planning to practice in a community pharmacy setting postgraduation, and 54% indicated they intended to enter practice directly. Student loan indebtedness was not a significant predictor of whether students planned to pursue postgraduate training. There was a significant association between debt influence and pressure perceptions and students' plans to pursue postgraduate training (aOR=0.78; 95% CI=0.65-0.94). The odds of indicating hospital (vs chain community) pharmacy as the anticipated setting decreased 36% with every one point increase in debt influence and pressure perceptions (aOR=0.64; 95% CI=0.50-0.81). Conclusion. Pharmacy students' perceived debt pressure and influence predicted their intention to enter practice directly (vs pursuing postgraduate training) and to select a career in chain community pharmacy (vs hospital pharmacy). Student loan indebtedness was not a significant predictor of postgraduate training intentions. These findings suggest that interventions that equip students to manage the pressure associated with large student loan debts should be explored.

Mobile Phone Support for Diabetes Self-Care Among Diverse Adults: Protocol for a Three-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Nonadherence to self-care is common among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and often leads to severe complications. Moreover, patients with T2D who have low socioeconomic status and are racial/ethnic minorities disproportionately experience barriers to adherence and poor outcomes. Basic phone technology (text messages and phone calls) provides a practical medium for delivering content to address patients' barriers to adherence; however, trials are needed to explore long-term and sustainable effects of mobile phone interventions among diverse patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of mobile phone-based diabetes support interventions on self-care and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) among adults with T2D using a 3-arm, 15-month randomized controlled trial with a Type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation approach. The intervention arms are (1) Rapid Encouragement/Education And Communications for Health (REACH) and (2) REACH + Family-focused Add-on for Motivating Self-care (FAMS). METHODS: We recruited primary care patients with T2D (N=512) from Federally Qualified Health Centers and an academic medical center, prioritizing recruitment of publicly insured and minority patients from the latter. Eligible patients were prescribed daily diabetes medication and owned a cell phone with text messaging capability. We excluded patients whose most recent HbA1c result within 12 months was <6.8% to support detection of intervention effects on HbA1c. Participants were randomly assigned to REACH only, REACH + FAMS, or the control condition. REACH provides text messages tailored to address patient-specific barriers to medication adherence based on the Information-Motivation-Behavioral skills model, whereas FAMS provides monthly phone coaching with related text message content focused on family and friend barriers to diet and exercise adherence. We collect HbA1c and self-reported survey data at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months, and again at 15 months to assess sustained changes. We will use generalized estimating equation models to test the effects of REACH (either intervention arm) on HbA1c relative to the control group, the potential additive effects of FAMS, and effects of either intervention on adherence to self-care behaviors and diabetes self-efficacy. RESULTS: The trial is ongoing; recruitment closed December 2017. We plan to perform analyses on 6-month outcomes for FAMS in July 2018, and project to have 15-month data for REACH analyses in April 2019. CONCLUSIONS: Our study will be one of the first to evaluate a long-term, theory-based text messaging intervention to promote self-care adherence among racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse adults with T2D. Moreover, our study will assess the feasibility of a family-focused intervention delivered via mobile phones and compare the effects of text messaging alone versus text messaging plus phone coaching. Findings will advance our understanding of how interventions delivered by phone can benefit diverse patients with chronic conditions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02409329; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02409329 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6yHkg9SSl); NCT02481596; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02481596 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6yHkj9XD4).

Implementing and evaluating a community-based, inter-institutional, interprofessional education pilot programme.

Many health professions programmes have begun integrating interprofessional learning into their curricula; however, community-based interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives are relatively scarce. The Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance IPE Faculty Collaborative, comprised of faculty from five institutions, developed a community-based IPE programme that allowed students to engage in meaningful interprofessional activities while exposing them to social determinants of health. Thirty students from ten professions were divided into six teams and paired with three community organisations. Each team engaged community organisation staff and clients to develop practical solutions to their priorities. Teams participated in debriefings and team-building exercises to further support interprofessional learning. Students' comfort working with others (CWO), value in working with others (VWO), and self-perceived ability (SPA) to work with others were assessed using the Interprofessional Socialisation and Valuing Scale (ISVS). Mean rank scores in all three subcategories increased significantly from baseline (CWO: z = -4.11, p < 0.0001; VWO: z = -3.41. p = 0.001; SPA: z = -2.79, p = 0.005). In addition, programme evaluations suggest the programme improved students' understanding of social determinants of health. Our findings align with those of two other community-based IPE initiatives and support the expansion of IPE efforts beyond traditional settings.

Integration of Clinical Pharmacist Services into an Underserved Primary Care Clinic Utilizing an Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Model.

This report describes the role of a clinical pharmacist serving onsite in an interprofessional collaborative practice care model at an urban underserved primary care clinic. It also overviews current health care legislative policy as it relates to expanding pharmacists roles as an integrated team member in medically underserved, vulnerable populations.

Sodium glucose co-transporter inhibitors for the management of diabetes mellitus: an opinion paper from the Endocrine and Metabolism Practice and Research Network of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) carries a high prevalence in the United States and worldwide. Therefore, the number of medication classes being developed and studied has grown. The individualized management of diabetes is accomplished by evaluating a medication's efficacy, safety, and cost, along with the patient's preference and tolerance to the medication. Sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors are a new therapeutic class indicated for the treatment of diabetes and have a unique mechanism of action, independent of beta-cell function. The first agent approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was canagliflozin in March 2013. Two agents - dapagliflozin and empagliflozin - were FDA-approved in January and July 2014, respectively. A clear understanding of the new class is needed to identify its appropriate use in clinical practice. Members of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Endocrine and Metabolism Practice and Research Network reviewed available literature regarding this therapeutic class. The article addresses the advantages, disadvantages, emerging role, and patient education for sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors. Key limitations for this article include limited access to clinical trial data not published by the pharmaceutical company and limited data on products produced outside the United States.

Evidence-Guided Integration of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice into Nurse Managed Health Centers.

The Division of Nursing, Bureau of Health Workforce, has spearheaded a 3-year effort to increase the skills of nurses to lead interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) teams. Since 2012, the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention program has funded 53 sites engaged in this work. The purposes of this report are to describe the IPCP framework undergirding implementation at one such site, describe the evaluation components and approach, describe how health professions students are integrated into this model, and discuss implications of IPCP for future nurse-managed/nurse-led initiatives within an evolving health care environment. Core team members include a family nurse practitioner, physician, pharmacist, social worker, and community health advocate. The clinic is located within a public housing complex; the target population is largely uninsured or underinsured with a historically high rate of emergency department utilization.

Retrospective analysis and patient satisfaction assessment of insulin pump therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate and assess glycemic control, total daily insulin requirements, weight, and patient satisfaction after changing from multiple daily injections (MDI) to continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional cohort analysis of an electronic medical records database from a private physician's clinic. Patients over 18 years of age who had type 2 diabetes and who utilized CSII for at least six months were analyzed. Variables of interest included glycosylated hemoglobin, total daily insulin requirements, and weight at the time of conversion from MDI to CSII. Patients were also asked to complete a satisfaction survey comparing MDI to CSII. RESULTS: Thirty patients who met the inclusion criteria were identified. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) decreased from 9.25% ± 2.20 to 7.94% ± 1.65 (P < 0.001) at six months, total daily insulin dose decreased from 1.33 ± 0.66 u/kg/day to 1.08 ± 0.70 u/kg/day (P < 0.001) at six months, and weight increased from 106.66 ± 19.17 kg to 109.75 ± 18.01 kg (P < 0.001). After twelve months, HbA1c did not significantly change and weight returned to baseline; however, total daily insulin dose significantly decreased. 95% of patients preferred CSII therapy to previous injection regimen for various reasons. CONCLUSION: Insulin pump therapy provided better glycemic control and reduced the total amount of insulin utilized. Patients who utilized CSII thought that the treatment was more convenient, less burdensome, and provided better control of fluctuations in blood glucose. CSII was preferred by patients over multiple daily injections.

Drug use evaluation of sitagliptin dosing by pharmacist versus nonpharmacist clinicians in an internal medicine department of a private physician-owned multispecialty clinic.

BACKGROUND: Sitagliptin is recommended for initial and maintenance dosing at 100 mg daily. Downward dose adjustment is recommended in patients with moderate or severe renal insufficiency. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of the potentially inappropriate initial dosing of sitagliptin based on estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) at baseline for pharmacist versus nonpharmacist prescribers in an internal medicine department of a private physician-owned multispecialty clinic that included a pharmacist-managed diabetes program. METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional cohort analysis using data from an electronic medical record database of a private physicianowned multispecialty clinic that included a pharmacist-managed diabetes program. For patients prescribed sitagliptin between October 17, 2006, and June 5, 2008, the variables of interest were (a) the initial sitagliptin dose; (b) the GFR, calculated for each patient using the 4-point Modification of Dosing in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula at the time of initiation of sitagliptin; and (c) whether the clinician initiating the dose was a pharmacist or nonpharmacist (i.e., internal medicine physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant). RESULTS: Of the 290 patients prescribed sitagliptin for the first time between October 17, 2006, and June 5, 2008, 35 (12.1%) received a potentially inappropriate initial dose according to product labeling regarding renal function; 21 were over-dosed and 14 were under-dosed. Potentially inappropriate dosing occurred in 1 of 158 patients (0.6%) who had initial dosing prescribed by a pharmacist compared with 34 of 132 patients (25.8%) for nonpharmacists (P < 0.001, Fisher's exact test). CONCLUSION: Potentially inappropriate initial dosing of sitagliptin based on assessment of renal function was more likely to occur with nonpharmacist prescribers than with a pharmacist prescriber.