The Impact of a Hematopoietic Cellular Therapy Pharmacist on Clinical and Humanistic Outcomes: A RE-AIM Framework Analysis.

The hematopoietic cellular therapy (HCT) pharmacist is an essential member of the multidisciplinary care team. Yet, standardized incorporation of a pharmacist at transplantation centers remains challenging. Implementation science uses theory-driven and systematic approaches to integrate interventions into clinical practice. We describe our experience implementing an HCT pharmacist at our center and conducted a program evaluation using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. We implemented 1 full-time equivalent pharmacist to provide medication management services through a collaborative practice agreement (CPA) to the allogeneic transplantation population at a medium-sized center in rural Pennsylvania over a 2-year period. The HCT pharmacist documented all in-person and telephonic care encounters in the electronic medical record. A pharmacist intervention tool was developed to document identified medication-related problems with corresponding interventions and magnitude of intervention. Summary statistics including frequency and percentages were presented for categorical variables in RE-AIM domain. Over the 2-year period, the HCT pharmacist monitored 40 allogeneic patients at our institution accounting for 1531 patient encounters. The average duration of follow-up was 299 days. The HCT pharmacist medication therapy services were able to reach all allogeneic transplants at our institute. The HCT pharmacist managed 388 medications and identified 2156 medication related problems for which the pharmacist provided 2959 interventions. Time in therapeutic range of immunosuppression was 73.9% when managed by the HCT pharmacist through a CPA. Of the 24 patients and 9 caregivers who completed the patient satisfaction survey, 25 (76%) were strongly satisfied with their care. Pharmacy services were gradually adopted and expanded to incorporate additional populations, including 121 autologous transplant and 272 hematology patient encounters. The role of the HCT pharmacist was justified with hospital administration and sustained as a designated pharmacist role at our center. The implementation of an HCT pharmacist service can positively impact patient care. The RE-AIM framework provides a methodological approach for programmatic evaluation and generalizability. © 2022 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating implementation outcomes (acceptability, adoption, and feasibility) of two initiatives to improve the medication prior authorization process.

BACKGROUND: Processes such as prior authorization (PA) for medications, implemented by health insurance companies to ensure that safe, appropriate, cost-effective, and evidence-based care is provided to all members, have created inefficiencies within healthcare systems. Thus, healthcare systems have implemented supplemental processes to reduce burden and ensure efficiency, timeliness, and appropriate care. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate implementation outcomes of two initiatives related to PA for medications: a common record that records all PA-related information that was integrated into the health record and an auto-routing of specialty prescriptions to a hospital-owned specialty pharmacy. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews with medical staff to understand their experience, acceptability, adoption, and feasibility of these initiatives guided by Proctor's Framework for Implementation Outcomes. Transcripts were analyzed using consensus coding. RESULTS: Eleven medical staff participated in semi-structured interviews. The two initiatives were analyzed together because the findings were similar across both for our outcomes of acceptability, adoption, and feasibility. Participants found the implemented initiatives to be acceptable and beneficial but felt there were still challenges with the new workflow. The initiatives were fully adopted by only one clinic site within the healthcare system, but limitations arose when adopting to another site. Individuals felt the initiatives were feasible and improved workflow, communication, and transparency. However, participants described future adaptations that would help improve this process including improved standardization, automation, and transparency. CONCLUSION: The acceptability, adoption, and feasibility of two initiatives to improve the PA process within the one clinical site were well received but issues of generalizability limited the initiatives adoption system wide.

Implementation strategies to improve statin utilization in individuals with hypercholesterolemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Numerous implementation strategies to improve utilization of statins in patients with hypercholesterolemia have been utilized, with varying degrees of success. The aim of this systematic review is to determine the state of evidence of implementation strategies on the uptake of statins. METHODS AND RESULTS: This systematic review identified and categorized implementation strategies, according to the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) compilation, used in studies to improve statin use. We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Clinicaltrials.gov from inception to October 2018. All included studies were reported in English and had at least one strategy to promote statin uptake that could be categorized using the ERIC compilation. Data extraction was completed independently, in duplicate, and disagreements were resolved by consensus. We extracted LDL-C (concentration and target achievement), statin prescribing, and statin adherence (percentage and target achievement). A total of 258 strategies were used across 86 trials. The median number of strategies used was 3 (SD 2.2, range 1-13). Implementation strategy descriptions often did not include key defining characteristics: temporality was reported in 59%, dose in 52%, affected outcome in 9%, and justification in 6%. Thirty-one trials reported at least 1 of the 3 outcomes of interest: significantly reduced LDL-C (standardized mean difference [SMD] - 0.17, 95% CI - 0.27 to - 0.07, p = 0.0006; odds ratio [OR] 1.33, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.58, p = 0.0008), increased rates of statin prescribing (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.60 to 3.06, p < 0.0001), and improved statin adherence (SMD 0.13, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.19; p = 0.0002; OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.63, p = 0.023). The number of implementation strategies used per study positively influenced the efficacy outcomes. CONCLUSION: Although studies demonstrated improved statin prescribing, statin adherence, and reduced LDL-C, no single strategy or group of strategies consistently improved outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42018114952 .

Barriers, facilitators, and solutions to familial hypercholesterolemia treatment.

BACKGROUND: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited lipid disorder that confers high risk for premature cardiovascular disease but remains undertreated. Causes are multifactorial and multilevel, ranging from underprescribing (at the clinician-level) to medication nonadherence (at the patient-level). We evaluated patient and clinician stakeholder barriers and facilitators for treatment of FH to explore possible solutions to the problem. METHODS AND RESULTS: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups guided by the Practical, Robust, Implementation and Sustainability Model (PRISM), were conducted with 33 patients and 17 clinician stakeholders across three healthcare systems. A total of14 patients and 9 clinician stakeholders participated in on-site focus groups and the remainder were individual interviews. Transcripts were coded using an iterative process to create a static codebook. We characterized patient and clinician stakeholder barriers into three categories: medical care-, medication-, and life-related. Feasibility of brainstormed solutions varied and was not always representative of the needs of all stakeholders. Patients suggested a need for childhood screening for FH and doctors being persistent about the importance of treating FH, creation of a patient peer group, data transparency, advocacy, and policy changes that would enable patients to receive better treatment. Clinician stakeholders suggested the need for clinical champions. Both groups of stakeholders discussed the need for education about FH. CONCLUSIONS: Proposed solutions to improve treatment of FH proffered by participants in this study included resources for both patients and clinician stakeholders that clarify cardiovascular disease risks from FH, develop programs to screen for and identify FH at younger ages, and foster open conversations between patients and clinicians about treatment.

Medications requiring prior authorization across health insurance plans.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the amount of variation in numbers and types of medications requiring prior authorization (PA) by insurance plan and type. METHODS: Most health insurance companies require PA for medications to ensure safe and effective use and contain costs. We generated 4 lists of medications that required PA during 2017 for commercial, marketplace, Medicaid, and Medicare plans. We aggregated medications according to the generic medication name equivalent using codes and medication names. We compared these medications to assess how many of the medications required PA by 1, 2, 3, or all 4 of the insurance plans. We counted all prescription orders written for a patient age 18 years or older with health plan insurance during 2017 for any of the medications that appeared on the health plan's PA lists by querying the electronic health record. RESULTS: PA was required for 600 unique medications in 2017 across the 4 plans. Of 691,457 prescription orders written for 114,159 members, 31,631 (5%) were written for 1 of the 600 medications that required PA by at least 1 insurance plan. There were 12,540 medication orders (written for 6,642 members) that potentially required PA. The marketplace plan required PA for the greatest number of medications (440), followed by the Medicare (272), commercial (271), and Medicaid (72) plans. The most commonly prescribed classes of medications for which PA was required by at least 1 plan were antihyperlipidemics (22% of orders potentially requiring PA), narcotic analgesics (13%), hypnotics (12%), antidiabetic medications (9%), and antidepressants (9%). For only 25% of medications (151 of 600) was PA required by at least 3 plans, and for only 5% (32 of 600) was PA required by all 4 insurance types. CONCLUSION: Medications requiring PA can differ within a single health insurance company, but this variation may be unavoidable due to external factors.

Community Pharmacists' Perceptions of Care Following the Implementation of a Transitions-of-Care Program.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacist-led collaborative interventions can support improved medication use and adherence during transitions of care (TOC). Community pharmacists are not always actively connected with other health-care team professionals, however, and their confidence in having necessary information may vary. OBJECTIVE: To assess community pharmacists' perceptions of information, care provided, and communication, before and after a postdischarge intervention designed to increase communication between inpatient and community pharmacists. METHODS: A survey assessing 4 domains related to pharmacists' perceptions of information and care of hospital discharge patients was developed and distributed to 106 community pharmacists before and after a TOC interventional study. RESULTS: Based on 151 responses (77 baseline, 74 followup) from 84 participants, community pharmacists have high confidence in their ability to counsel and feel that they are an important part of the healthcare team. They are less confident that they have adequate information about patients and report gaps in having adequate support and resources to provide care. When a TOC intervention was implemented, there was significant improvement in community pharmacists' feeling of having adequate information about the patients. CONCLUSION: Not having adequate information regarding patients discharged from the hospital is an area of concern for community pharmacists and a modifiable opportunity to improve TOCs.

Developing implementation strategies to improve uptake of guideline-recommended treatments for individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia: A protocol.

BACKGROUND: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) affects more than one million Americans, and most individuals have not been formally diagnosed with the condition. Individuals with FH have markedly elevated serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels from birth that substantially increase their risk for early-onset cardiovascular (CV) events. Guideline-recommended treatments exist to lower LDL-C and reduce the risk of CV events in individuals with FH and hypercholesterolemia. This study seeks to address a significant gap in the care of individuals with FH by systematically developing an effective approach to increase the adoption of guideline-recommended treatments for FH. METHODS: This developmental study will consist of three aims: 1) determine the barriers to and facilitators of treatment of FH; 2) develop a list of potential implementation strategies to promote the adoption of guideline-recommended treatment of individuals with FH, and 3) pilot one implementation strategy from Aim 2 in one health care system to evaluate implementation outcomes of the strategy. The Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model will guide this project, including the development of interview questions, implementation strategies, and evaluation of the implementation strategy. The implementation outcomes include: of individuals targeted by the implementation strategy, how many are impacted by it (reach), measure the change in knowledge, attitude, and behavior that is impacted by the implementation strategy (effectiveness), in settings targeted by the implementation strategy, how many adopt it (adoption), and fidelity and cost of the implementation strategy (implementation). Data sources will include electronic health records, administrative databases, surveys, and semi-structured interviews. DISCUSSION: The inclusion of patient and organizational stakeholder experiences is a critically important step in developing efficient and effective implementation strategies. Additionally, perspectives from a variety of geographic areas and cultural perspectives should increase feasibility and fidelity of the interventional approach to improve adoption of guideline-recommended practices for FH care.

Understanding the medication prior-authorization process: A case study of patients and clinical staff from a large rural integrated health delivery system.

PURPOSE: The barriers and solutions to the current prior-authorization (PA) process at an integrated health system were evaluated. METHODS: Focus groups were conducted with patients at an integrated health system who also had insurance from an affiliated health plan and at least 1 denial for a medication in the past year. Semistructured interviews were conducted with medical staff (physicians, office staff, and PA experts). Both focus groups and interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Inductive analysis was used to code transcripts and develop themes. RESULTS: Three focus groups were conducted with 13 patients, and 9 medical staff (3 staff physicians, 2 office staff, and 4 PA staff) who have interactions with the PA process interviewed. Several themes were identified including the complexity of the PA process, consequences experienced, and ineffective communication between key stakeholders. A cross-cutting theme was that stakeholders expressed feelings of frustration, anxiety, and anger throughout the PA process. All stakeholders offered insights on how the process could be improved to better facilitate their preferences, such as access to the list of medications that require PA and the need for a patient advocate. CONCLUSION: Results of this study revealed that the PA process was frustrating, upsetting, and infuriating to patients and medical staff involved in the process. Three main themes identified included the complexity of the PA process, consequences experienced from the PA process, and ineffective communication between stakeholders.

Reductions in 30-day readmission, mortality, and costs with inpatient-to-community pharmacist follow-up.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of pharmacist-provided continuous care and electronic communication on readmissions among a group of high-risk patients. DESIGN: Pragmatic interventional study with 5:1 matched control. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Patients discharged from any of 4 hospitals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, or diabetes within Pennsylvania. Patients in the intervention group received consultative services from inpatient pharmacists before discharge and inpatient-to-community pharmacist communication of hospitalization information facilitated with the use of a secure messaging system. After discharge, patients received up to 5 in-person or telephonic medication management consultations with their community pharmacists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The principal end point was 30-day readmission. Secondary end points included time to event (readmission, emergency department [ED] visit, death, or composite of hospitalization, ED, or death) over 90 days after discharge. Financial feasibility and sustainability were also assessed with the use of a return-on-investment (ROI) model based on information within the subset of patients with health plan coverage. RESULTS: Among patients who received inpatient intervention plus consultation with community pharmacists compared with matched control patients, we observed a lower 30-day readmission rate (9% vs. 15%, respectively; P = 0.02), 30-day all-cause mortality (2% vs. 5%; P = 0.04), and composite 30-day end point of readmission, ED visit, or death (22% vs. 28%; P = 0.09). Differences between the groups diminished and no longer maintained statistical significance at 90 days. An estimated average ROI of 8.1 was also observed among the subset with health plan information (worst base case range 1.9-16.3). CONCLUSION: Connecting community pharmacists to inpatient pharmacists during the transitional hospital-to-home time frame is feasible and resulted in lower 30-day readmissions and significant ROI, that is, significant impact on health care utilization and total health care costs. Results of this study have broad implications for improving the care of high-risk patients moving from hospital to home, most notably in the engagement of community pharmacists after discharge to assure medication use and follow-up to reduce readmissions and total costs of care.