Evaluating the implementation of a pharmacy hackathon pilot.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The need for disruptive innovation within the pharmacy profession is well documented in the literature. However, there is a lack of proper training on innovation and creative thinking for student pharmacists and limited time or incentive for health care practitioners to be innovative. Hosting an innovation event, such as a hackathon, can teach innovative strategies and incentivize innovation by student pharmacists. Thus, the aim of this study was to to assess the feasibility and student perception of an inaugural school of pharmacy hackathon pilot. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: A hackathon pilot was planned on a distant site campus. Over the course of four months, a planning team, consisting of a faculty member and a student leader in the American Pharmacy Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists, met every other week to plan the event. Outcomes included: change in student excitement and interest related to the hackathon, number of participants, and change in student confidence in the ability to perform steps in the innovation process. FINDINGS: The average level of excitement prior to the event increased, and student confidence related to the ability to perform each step in the innovation process improved. Additionally, students agreed that they would be interested in attending a similar event in the future and would recommend the event to a friend. SUMMARY: Hosting a healthcare hackathon at a school of pharmacy is an enjoyable way for pharmacy students to practice and gain confidence with innovation skills while addressing Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Standard 4.3.

Defining the value of faculty primary care clinical pharmacists.

BACKGROUND: Demonstrating the value of comprehensive medication management (CMM) within clinical faculty sites is a challenge when balancing patient volume with academic responsibilities. Utilizing an evidence-based implementation system for CMM, faculty primary care clinical pharmacists (PCCPs) standardized CMM within their practice sites. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this project was to define the value of faculty PCCPs. METHODS: An Ambulatory Care Summit was hosted to identify opportunities for consistency of CMM. Following the summit, the CMM implementation team (faculty PCCPs and project manager) utilized CMM implementation tools from the Comprehensive Medication Management in Primary Care Research Team. Additionally, a strategic plan was developed to enhance practice management, improve fidelity, and determine key performance indicators (KPIs). Five faculty-mentored student projects assessed value of faculty-delivered CMM in primary care clinics. Data included medication adherence metrics, clinic quality metrics, diabetes metrics, acute healthcare utilization rates, and a physician satisfaction survey. RESULTS: Among those receiving CMM, adherence improved 14% (P = 0.022), 119 clinic quality metrics were achieved, HbA1c ≤ 9% improved 45% (p < 0.001), average HbA1c decreased by 1.73% (p < 0.001), and medication preventable acute care utilization within the referral reason decreased. Over 90% of physicians surveyed agreed the faculty PCCP is a valuable team member, improved patients' health, and improved effectiveness/efficiency. Four student posters were presented at national conferences and 18 student pharmacists were engaged in various aspects of the project. CONCLUSION: Incorporating CMM at faculty primary care clinics provides value. To demonstrate this value, faculty must align KPIs with institution-specific payer contracts.

Unleashing the Power of the Right Brain.

We envision a paradigm shift where our profession no longer follows but leads the charge to develop a whole mind approach in our pharmacists. Left brain skills remain critical but are no longer sufficient to combat the current threats of abundance, automation, and outsourcing within the pharmacy landscape. It is vital that pharmacists be skilled problem solvers and empathizers. We must capitalize on characteristics that make pharmacists essential while innovating new opportunities and jobs. We call on the Academy to reimagine curricular design and offer deliberate messaging and modeling that fosters a higher priority on right brain skill development.

Technology to enhance in-class discussions and student participation at a multi-campus program.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the implementation of a novel approach to using technology in a class taught from a satellite campus via synchronous video teleconferencing and its impact on student participation. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: A wiki platform was blended with an audience response system and implemented during a one-hour class period. Students provided answers to open-ended discussion questions on the audience-response wiki page. The instructor read responses aloud as they were added, and provided explanation and immediate feedback on each response. FINDINGS: There were 136 second year student pharmacists enrolled in the class, and 41 (30.15%) students contributed to the audience response wiki during the in-class discussion. The combined four discussion questions had a total of 86 responses, which indicates that some students participated more than once. There are five accepted types of student interaction in distance education, and the audience-response wiki addressed each of them. Additionally, it addressed many barriers to in-class discussion for students on a distance campus including microphone anxiety and fear of interrupting a peer on another campus. Beyond enhanced student participation, it allowed the instructor to provide immediate feedback on a higher volume of student responses. SUMMARY: Audience response wiki tools are free, easy to use, and allow students across multiple campuses to overcome barriers associated in-class discussion.

Association between health literacy and 30-day healthcare use after hospital discharge in the heart failure population.

BACKGROUND: Low health literacy increases the risk for hospital readmissions. Despite this, the measurement and use of health literacy to guide discharge counseling and planning in heart failure patients is not commonly performed. A short 3-Question Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS) is available and takes less than three minutes to complete, but has never been evaluated to help determine whether health literacy affects healthcare use after discharge in patients with heart failure. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess 30-day readmissions and emergency department visits based on health literacy evaluated by the BHLS in an acute care heart failure population. METHODS: This was a prospective observational cohort study conducted at a large quaternary health system. Hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of heart failure were assessed for health literacy using the BHLS. Unplanned healthcare use after discharge including 30-day, all-cause ED visits and hospital readmissions was assessed using univariate and logistic regression models. RESULTS: Two hundred and sixty four patients aged 66.6 ± 14.3 (mean ± SD) years met inclusion/exclusion criteria of whom 175 (66.3%) had a BHLS score >9 (adequate health literacy) and 89 (33.7%) had a BHLS score ≤9 (low health literacy). Predictors of low health literacy included older age (p = 0.019), lower education level (p < 0.001) and unemployed (p = 0.048). After controlling for potential confounders, low health literacy was independently associated with 30-day healthcare use after hospital discharge (OR:1.80; 95% CI: 1.04-3.11; p = 0.035). CONCLUSION: Using a short, 3-question validated survey instrument, it was demonstrated that low health literacy was associated with increased 30-day unplanned healthcare use after discharge in this heart failure population. These results provide a clinically useful, easily incorporated tool that could identify high-risk patients at need for clinical interventions.

Human chromosome 7: DNA sequence and biology.

DNA sequence and annotation of the entire human chromosome 7, encompassing nearly 158 million nucleotides of DNA and 1917 gene structures, are presented. To generate a higher order description, additional structural features such as imprinted genes, fragile sites, and segmental duplications were integrated at the level of the DNA sequence with medical genetic data, including 440 chromosome rearrangement breakpoints associated with disease. This approach enabled the discovery of candidate genes for developmental diseases including autism.